What You've Got
by Shade Penn
Summary: Set after Legacy. Slow Build. Jack tries to make it up to Smokescreen about what happened and something changes along the way. Jack/Smokescreen.
1. Chapter 1

Jack felt guilty about what happened with Smokescreen and how it was still partly his own fault; he had quite enough close encounters with Decepticons to think it would be a good idea to go _to_ them. Airachnid, Megatron, Knock Out, and even that zombie 'Con stood out in his mind as one of the scariest moments he had around them.

But he was just having so much _fun_ with the newest Autobot that he really wasn't thinking as he should have been, because being around Smokescreen brought out that relaxed side of him; one he didn't have time to indulge in nowadays or any other days really. He had responsibility long before the Autobots had come into his life, so it was almost a foreign feeling to be so loose for once; it had been a long time though that he could have felt so carefree.

And sure, though he hadn't exactly cut loose on a _good_ way, it still felt…rather nice to feel like an actual teenager.

So as he looked for Smokescreen in the base, he thought he should make sure the thanks he was going to add didn't seem tacked on or feel cheap after Arcee had lashed out at him for putting him in danger. He had also got it when he went home, but adding that probably wouldn't matter much if he was trying to sound sincere.

It would just make it seem like he was doing it to take the heat off himself than being genuinely sorry. And quite honestly that was the last thing he wanted to do.

He was so lost in thought he jumped when he heard a voice uneasily call out his name and he looked up, unbelievably at the mech he was looking for. Jack furrowed his brow, why would Smokescreen be so anxious around him…? _Oh_, right, that.

The mech grinned at him to cover up his previous expression. "Whoa there, kid."

"Kid, who are you calling a kid?" Jack retorted and felt the tension just unwind for a moment, and that was enough for him to begin his apology. He thought long about what he wanted to say, that's why he had avoided Smokescreen for the better part of the past two days, and even calling it 'thinking' still felt cowardly to him. "Uh, can we talk?"

The grin slipped off Smokescreen's faceplate and his expression closed itself off guardedly as he stared down at him. "There's nothing _to_ talk about."

Jack bit his lip at the finality of the tone before pressing on. "I should have tried to convince you not to go-"

Smokescreen quickly waved it off. "Everyone was fine at the end, there's nothing more to say that hasn't already been said."

The tension was back and Jack furrowed his brow at the reason Smokescreen was acting this way towards him. Then he thought about what the mech had just said and his eyes widened. "Look, it's as much my fault too, and I'm really so-"

"You don't have to say that." Smokescreen cut in hastily and seemed even more agitated than before.

Jack bit back the urge to sigh, he knew because of what happened with Arcee that the mech might want to avoid him so he didn't get him in danger again. He had to prove he _wasn't_ going to get in trouble with interacting with him. "Okay then," he said in placation, "are you doing anything right now?"

Smokescreen blinked before his optics narrowed. "No, why?"

Jack scratched the back of his head nervously, but since his try at apologizing had not gone as planned, then there was no guarantee that this offer would be accepted either. "We never did get to finish our…'assignment.'"

The mech stared at him for a moment before he slowly shook his head. "Uh, maybe some other time." He said evasively and continued walking down the hall.

Jack watched him go and sighed in disappointment; but buildings things up took time after all.

* * *

For someone who was confined to the immediate base area, Jack though Smokescreen was really hard to find, but after his disastrous attempt to talk to him, Jack had the sinking suspicion the mech was probably avoiding him on purpose. Jack didn't want to ask the others were Smokescreen was since he wanted to do this himself.

It hadn't been overt when Jack noticed Smokescreen was never around when he was, but then it started to get obvious when he took any excuse not to be in the same room with him. Was he angrier at him than he realized or was he scared of Arcee? Either way it just made Jack want to prove to the mech that being around him wasn't bad.

The boy wandered out of the base and blinked when he heard the sounds of tires against the gravel and looked off to the side to see a race car coming down the drive. He gritted his teeth and stupidly stood in the center of the entrance. "I just want to _talk!_" he shouted and the race car transformed and landed in front of him, the mech leaning in close with narrowed optics.

"Well I _don't_, we can't if there's nothing to say." He retorted.

"It's still my fault, just let me apologize." Jack said pleadingly.

Something changed in Smokescreen's optics and he looked uncomfortable with how the boy was acting. "What do you have to apologize for? I was careless with bringing you with me, that's all there is to it."

"No it's not, I should have tried harder to make you see it wasn't a good idea, but I didn't because…" Jack bit his lip momentarily. "…because I was having so much fun with you, even though it was just dumb pranks I felt…_alive_, like a regular teenager."

Smokescreen's optics widened. "You…you were?"

Jack nodded and latched onto the incredulous tone. "Yes, I had fun and that's what I wanted to ask you before." He said and didn't mention the fact he wanted to also prove being around him wasn't so bad.

The mech still looked uneasy about the idea, but at least he wasn't immediately turning him down like before. "I," he paused and his optics had a faraway look in them, "I'll think about."

Well, it wasn't a '_no_' at least, Jack thought and accepted the answer. "I'll be waiting for the answer then." He added and moved to the side to let Smokescreen go by him.

The mech stopped briefly when he walked past Jack and wavered before offering him a small smile. "Walk with me?"

Jack's eyes dimmed and he returned the smile. "Sure."

This was at least a start.


	2. Chapter 2

Though they had a somewhat uneasy restart, Smokescreen had eventually got back to Jack to let him know that once his grounding was over they could go and have fun. Jack tentatively pointed out there was still nothing stopping them from having fun at the base, but Smokescreen darkly retorted that there was and Jack knew he was talking about Arcee.

He couldn't really fault the mech for it, so he figured he'd have to get Arcee to be a little lighter on Smokescreen so they could build on what he thought was a tentatively hopeful friendship. It was too strong a word and implied too much familiarity between them for Jack to call them _friends_ because they quite honestly weren't right now.

But that's why he described it as hopeful after all.

When he'd gone home that night, he stayed behind in the garage to talk with Arcee. "Could you, uh, lighten up on freaking Smokescreen out?"

Arcee sounded suspicious. "What did he do now?"

Jack winced at the tone. "He didn't _do_ anything; I just wanna hang out with him that's all."

"You…you _want_ to be around him after he almost got you hurt?" Arcee asked incredulously.

"Now, to be fair, it was still my fault too." Jack replied and he couldn't stress that part enough. "And I really want to make things right. Please, just lighten up on the mech?"

Arcee was silent for a moment before she spoke. "I'm going to have a little…_chat_ with him beforehand though, just to get the point across of course."

Jack grimaced as he knew there was going to be nothing good about this; he just hoped it wasn't off-putting though. "Uh, sure."

* * *

"If you hurt him…" Arcee growled the next day as she leaned in close to Smokescreen with a threatening expression on her faceplate, and this was not what Jack had in mind for her to 'lighten up' on the mech.

Smokescreen looked cowed and his optics flickered over to Jack, who stared back as naively as possible to show that _this_ was not what he wanted, or rather not what he wanted to be displayed so overtly. He'd just wanted Arcee to make a gruff comment on easing up on him, not up right threaten him.

This was the exact opposite of what was supposed to happen; he half expected Smokescreen to back out of their arrangement and continue avoiding him for it.

"Arcee, I think he gets it." Jack spoke up and the femme pulled back and cast another suspicious glance at Smokescreen before she walked off. Jack gazed up at the mech sheepishly and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh, that's not gonna put you off, right?"

Smokescreen blinked as he straightened up, pretending like nothing had happened. "Put me off what?"

Jack's shoulders sagged as he realized Smokescreen wouldn't have caught the meaning and cleared up the confusion. "What I mean is, er, I hope Arcee's…threat didn't make you wanna take back our plan to hang out."

Smokescreen peered down at Jack. "Were you the one who asked her to do that?"

Jack blushed at this. "I didn't want her to do _that_." He said quickly. "I just wanted us to hang out earlier and I thought it was because you were scared of her that you'd been staying away from me."

Smokescreen raised an optic ridge before his expression shifted to one of disbelief. "You wanted to hang out sooner?" There were probably other things to be said, but for now this seemed like an appropriate question considering previous events. He smirked slowly as he decided to tease the boy a little. "You just want me that badly, huh?"

Instead of his own verbal screw up, Jack wondered if Smokescreen knew just what he had said sounded like. Though _Jack_ had to wonder if there was something wrong with how _his_ mind immediately caught the underlining meaning to the words and had him blushing up a storm as he tried to sputter out a response. "A-as a friend of course." He stuttered.

Smokescreen looked at Jack strangely but shrugged it off a moment later. "Come on then Jack, we can play with those video game things Bumblebee and Raf are always on."

Jack let out a silent sigh of relief before sprinting to catch up with him as he and Arcee had found Smokescreen at the top of the mountain the silo was in. "Do you even know what a video game is?"

Smokescreen glanced down at him. "Of course I do, it's like a less satisfying racing right?"

Jack rolled his eyes at the shorthanded way the mech summed up the racing games Raf and Bumblebee usually played with. "That's one of them anyway."

"Then maybe you could show me more after we get done this racing game?" Smokescreen questioned.

Jack felt his lips quirk up into a smirk. "If you feel up to it after I beat you."

The mech grinned down at him, looking less uncertain that he had before. "I have a race car as my alt-mode; you think you can compete with that?"

Jack's smirk widened into a grin as he held Smokescreen's gaze. "Give me a chance and I'll show you."

"I thought I was already giving you a chance?" Smokescreen asked idly and Jack blushed but he didn't look away.

"Yes, yes you are." He said seriously and only then did he look away.

"Though should I be amused or disturbed by your persistence to hang out?" Smokescreen questioned and with the pointed look Jack received there was another meaning to those words and he didn't take them at face value.

"I know that this may feel…creepy in some way, but I really _do_ want to make it up to you and be your friend." Jack said sincerely. "If you couldn't tell, I don't have many friends."

"Well when we pranked that redhead I clearly thought he was your friend." Smokescreen said sarcastically. "But, yeah, I did have fun with you too. Though when this 'grounding' is over I'll still show you what real racing is."

Jack shuddered as he thought back to the street racing he'd stupidly participated in. "Thanks, but no thanks; I like my racing to be strictly on the console."

Smokescreen shrugged. "Your loss then."


	3. Chapter 3

Jack grimaced as he lost another race to Smokescreen and the mech smirked at him. He rolled his eyes and tried to make it look like this continual losing streak hadn't affected him. _Every. Damn. Time,_ he'd always lost. Did he really suck so much at video games that he couldn't win at least _once_? Though at least Smokescreen wasn't letting him win, that would just be plain humiliating.

Or rather, more humiliating than this already was.

It had been two days since they'd taken up playing video games and alternatively having to help Raf with calming down Smokescreen and Bumblebee when they would argue about which of them got to play with the console next. Jack glanced down at Raf, who smiled at him with some amusement as Bumblebee buzzed anxiously in the background and he handed the younger boy the remote. "Smokescreen, you're…grounding is over tomorrow, right?"

Smokescreen blinked at the dark-haired boy, giving Bumblebee a momentary glare as the yellow mech took his own remote but gave the boy his answer. "Yeah," he said before realization showed up in his optics, "oh, right! You sure you're not up for some real racing?"

Jack's smile was strained as he answered the mech. "I'm sure, but that doesn't mean we can't find something else to do."

Smokescreen frowned at him slightly. "Well, fine then."

Jack was about to reply to the snappish tone before his phone beeped and though his mother was worried about him still with the Autobots and let him stay with them, but that didn't mean he wasn't cut any slack on when he had to get home. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on his guardian, who was still giving Smokescreen suspicious glances. "Arcee, we have to go."

Smokescreen's mode shifted and he straightened his back as Jack walked down the steps of the platform and he followed after him and Arcee. "You know, I could drive him home." He offered and Arcee glared at him. "Okay then, what about tomorrow? We did make plans after all."

Arcee narrowed her optics. "With you around they're should be a chaperone."

Jack's head shot up to stare at his guardian in disbelief. "Arcee! Nothing will happen, not like before, never like before. Promise." He said reassuringly.

Arcee looked down at Jack momentarily before she sighed. "He gets once chance, and if something happens I'm not letting you be alone with him ever again."

Seeing as Arcee could have really said she was going to keep an eye on them, Jack took what he could get. "Alright." He said and looked at Smokescreen imploringly. "Nothing's going to happen, right?"

Smokescreen scoffed. "Of course not, I'm offended you'd even think that." He said and looked slyly down at Jack. "Though you weren't complaining much before."

Jack saw Arcee's optic twitch and he cut in quickly. "Well this is going to be different." He said firmly.

He'd make _sure_ it would be.

* * *

Because it was still a school day, Jack and Smokescreen worked out some of the finer details that the mech could pick him up after his shift was over. The teen had a light-hearted feeling in him as he waited for the clock to signal he could leave; he hadn't spent _much_ time around Smokescreen, but he quite honestly liked the time they did spend together playing video games.

Also, this would be the first time since the 'incident' that they'd be spending alone together without anyone nearby. To him this was a big deal.

After finishing up his last order and letting the next person take over, Jack took off his work cap and clocked out. He walked outside and looked around to see if Smokescreen had shown up, but when seeing that the mech hadn't, he leaned back against the wall and waited. He noticed Sierra walking up towards him and straightened his back. "Uh, hi, Sierra."

The girl looked at him with a brief smile. "Hey, Jack, you just get off work?"

Jack nodded and smiled back at her. "Yeah, you going in?" he flushed and thought _duh, why else would she be here?_

Sierra looked at the entrance of the establishment before she looked back at Jack. "Uh, no, I saw you and thought I'd just strike up a conversation." She shrugged. "Is that too weird?"

Jack paused, but who was he to say what was too weird? Certainly not him. "No, er, so how's it going?"

"Good, really good." Sierra replied awkwardly. "Are you doing anything now?"

"Well, actually I'm waiting for someone to show up." Jack replied and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, um, is it a date?" Sierra asked nervously.

Jack blinked before he shook his head. "No, he and I had this planned for a bit now. He was…grounded and had to wait until he could leave his house." He explained and Sierra looked a touch relieved when she smiled at him again.

"Then are you doing anything tomorrow night?" she asked.

"You mean you wanna go on a date, with me?" Jack asked in disbelief.

Sierra nodded. "Yeah, so what do you say?"

While still a bit stunned, Jack managed to reply through his stupor. "I'd like that, so pick you up at 7, or is that too early?"

Sierra giggled into her hand. "That's fine, and maybe we could catch one of those drive-in movies."

"That'd be great." Jack replied and caught sight of Smokescreen pulling up into the parking lot. "Ah, that'd be my ride."

Sierra looked behind her at the sports car. "Your friend has cool car."

Jack smiled. "He sure is- _does_." He said chuckling nervously and hoped Sierra didn't catch his slip up.

The redhead showed no notice of it though as she looked back at Jack. "I guess I'll see you at seven?"

"On the dot." Jack replied and hurried over to Smokescreen's passenger side, sagging into the seat with a sigh.

"What's with you?" The mech asked pulling out of the parking lot.

Jack smiled down at the steering wheel. He didn't know if the Autobot had any real conception of human courtship rituals, but this was just too good to keep to himself. "I just agreed to go on a date with the prettiest girl in my school tomorrow; were going to a drive-in movie."

"A date? What's that?" Smokescreen questioned.

"It's when two people go out together." Jack replied.

"Then is that what we're doing?" Smokescreen asked curiously.

Jack flushed as he quickly corrected his statement. "A date is when two people who are _romantically_ interested in each other go out together. You and I just friends hanging out; like what we've been doing at the base."

Smokescreen chuckled. "With no supervision either." He paused momentarily. "So what _can_ we do if you don't wanna race?"

"There's still other stuff we can do." Jack explained patiently. "Like I can still show you around; we never really did get to finish that."

Smokescreen hummed for a moment in thought before he replied. "Well then I guess that means we'll be on the road for the long haul then? And if we happen to come by some street racing…"

Jack rolled his eyes. "No racing."

"Buzz kill." Smokescreen said shortly. "But I'll get you to loosen up like I did before."

"As long as it doesn't involve pranks, then I wouldn't mind so much." Jack replied and Smokescreen remained silent. Jack blinked and he stared down incredulously at the mech. "_Please_ tell me that it doesn't."

The mech remained silent and Jack could almost imagine the sullen look the mech was giving him.


	4. Chapter 4

"You know, this is pretty boring." Smokescreen said flatly as he and Jack were taking a tour around the town. "I want excitement, I want-"

"To get in trouble like we did before?" Jack cut in.

Smokescreen quieted for a moment before he snapped right back with, "You know you want to do something better. I think we'd be having more fun playing those video games."

Jack frowned as this wasn't how he wanted this to go. He didn't want to be _boring_. "Well, what do _you_ want to do then?" he asked warily.

"I take it that racing and pranking are out of the question?" Smokescreen asked and Jack nodded. The mech let out huffing sound. "Well, then let me come on your date."

Jack balked at the out of nowhere declaration. "Why would you want to?"

"Would anyone else want to?" Smokescreen retorted.

Jack leaned back in his seat and thought it over; he didn't want to bother anyone else and his mother had to work late so he couldn't use her car. "Just answer me this then; why?"

"Why not?" Smokescreen retorted. "Seeing human mating rituals up close would be far more interesting than this."

Jack thought of bursting the mech's bubble that nothing past just watching a movie and some idle chit-chat was going to happen, but decided against it. "Am I really that boring?"

"_You're_ not boring, you can be very fun when you're bad." Smokescreen said slyly and Jack flushed. "It's just that _this_ is boring. More of that not being able to do things for myself."

"If you did things yourself then we'd have more giant robot sightings than we already do." Jack said dryly and Smokescreen snorted.

The mech didn't reply as he kept on driving down the road and Jack looked out the window and he got out of the car once the mech had stopped in front of his house. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Jack smiled and nodded. "Yeah, later." He said and walked into the garage to speak with Arcee before going into the house. "See," he said and glanced out to see Smokescreen leave, "all in one piece."

"And no news of you or Smokescreen making a scene?" Arcee questioned.

Jack shook his head. "No, but Smokescreen's taking me out again tomorrow night for my date."

Arcee seemed to be a bit stunned. "You and Smokescreen?" she asked in disbelief.

Jack flushed and shook his head rapidly. "Sierra and I, Smokescreen's just taking us to the drive-in." he said and shrugged. "He thought our tour was boring and offered to take us out; said he wanted to see what human mating rituals were like."

Arcee chuckled. "He does know it doesn't work like he thinks, right?"

Jack shrugged once more. "I don't know whether he realizes it or not, but he's probably going to be disappointed anyway." He said shaking his head and kept walking on into the house and saw his mother putting their tofu dinner on the table. Jack grimaced as he saw it but decided to keep it to himself. "Mom, um, I'm going on a date tomorrow night; are you cool with me staying out late?"

His mother peered up at him in surprise. "You're going on a date? With who?"

Jack flushed. "With Sierra, she asked me out after I got off work and…" he trailed off as he didn't know whether his mother would approve of Smokescreen taking him and Sierra out.

"Just don't have _too_ much fun." June teased and Jack's face turned an even deeper red.

"Mom!"

* * *

"Dude, are you really taking Sierra out on a date?" Miko asked in school the next day at lunch.

Jack nearly choked on his sandwich at the out of the blue question. "We're did you hear that?"

"Are you kidding? Sierra was telling her friend about it in our last class and I overheard them." Miko replied and snorted. "And are you really going to take her to a drive-in?"

Jack felt a defensive reflex flare up. "And what's wrong with that? She's okay with it."

"Is Arcee okay with it too?" Miko asked slyly.

Jack sighed as he knew this wasn't going to stay a secret once he and Smokescreen left the base together later on. "Arcee's getting the night off, Smokescreen is taking us, and before you say anything, he volunteered."

Miko's eyes widened comically. "You're seriously fine with letting him be around you after what happened?"

Jack twitched. "That was still my fault too, I did pull a Miko after all." He huffed and Miko pouted at him. "I want us to move past that, so we're comfortable with each other."

"You two seem to be getting _real_ comfortable together." Miko said knowingly.

Jack furrowed his brow but brushed it off as Miko being herself. "Well that's how friends are, Miko."

Miko squinted at him before her expression turned to one of disbelief and shook her head. "You think I don't know that? What I'm talking about is-"

"Darby!" Jack jumped in his seat and twisted around to see Vince stalking over to him.

The dark-haired boy sighed deeply and wondered whether the redhead was going to bag on him about his date or if this was about that prank. "What is it, Vince?"

The other boy scowled down at him. "You got some nerve."

Jack furrowed his brow. "This is school, I have to come here."

Vince's scowl deepened as he reached down and pulled Jack to his feet by his collar. "You messed up my ride, and I expect you to pay for it."

"You mean you haven't cleaned it up yourself?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Not that pay." Vince retorted before he shoved Jack down onto the table and grabbed Jack's sandwich before he smeared it across his shirt and the mustard stained it. The redhead smirked at him. "There, now you look much better." He chuckled darkly before he stepped back and walked away.

Miko sniffed. "What a jerk." She said and looked at Jack's shirt. "You gonna head home?"

Jack shook his head and got up from the table and grimaced at the stain. It wouldn't be too hard to clean off, but it was definitely going to be embarrassing to walk around like this. "Just gonna clean up." He muttered and made his way out of the cafeteria and to the boy's washroom. He grabbed a bunch of paper towels and put it under the running water and used it to wipe the mustard off and when he was done he examined his shirt in the mirror. There was just a big stain on it, but it looked like he got all the mustard, plus it wasn't like the water wouldn't just dry up.

Jack tossed the paper towels and made his way back to the cafeteria to eat the rest of his lunch.

* * *

Jack straightened out his shirt as much as he could as the water had crinkled it and checked his pockets to make sure he had enough money as he glanced at Sierra's house. His mother had offered to chip in but he reasoned that they wouldn't be eating much probably.

Though that still didn't keep him from making sure of course.

Ah, there _was_ one more check he had to make sure of though.

"Remember Smokescreen, no talking-"

"Or I'll freak out the human, I get it." Smokescreen sounded annoyed. "I've been told that so many times I could repeat it by spark."

Jack felt some of the tension in him lessen and he smiled. "Have I told you how much I appreciate this?"

There was a pause before Smokescreen spoke. "You haven't." he said dryly.

Jack blushed and tentatively patted the dashboard. "Well, I was thinking it." He chuckled nervously.

If Jack could see it, he was sure that Smokescreen would be rolling his optics. "Sure you were."

Jack got out of the 'car' and made his way to front door. He knocked and soon it was opened by Sierra, who smiled at him, though it faltered as she noticed the wrinkles in Jack's shirt but didn't comment on it. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Sierra nodded and looked back into the house. "I'm leaving!" she called and quickly pulled Jack toward the car and closed the car behind her.

"Overprotective dad?" Jack questioned and Sierra's smiled turned bashful.

She looked confused as she saw the car. "Your friend's letting you use his car?"

Jack gazed knowingly down at Smokescreen before he nodded. "Yeah, he's a good friend, though we have to be careful not to get any food on the floor."

"Ah, he's one of those people." Sierra said nodding and got into the passenger's seat while Jack took the driver's side.

"You could say that." He replied and pretended to drive the 'car' to the drive-in movie theatre.

"Are you okay?" Sierra asked and Jack glanced at her. "I heard Vince beat you up at lunch."

"What?" Jack asked before he suddenly felt the car jerk around the lane in surprise. He made a show of tightening his hold on the steering wheel. "No, he didn't beat me up. The worst he did was push me onto the lunch table and smeared my sandwich on my shirt. There's no reason to worry." He said that last part quietly. "He said he just wanted me to pay for my prank."

"Still, it was pretty cool." Sierra conceded and Jack smiled slightly at her.

He didn't know how Smokescreen would react to Vince's retaliation. He admitted that the mech was a bit overconfident to think he couldn't get caught if he did anything, but he didn't want him to get in trouble because of him. _Again_.

The rest of the drive to the movie lot was in silence and when they arrived he offered to go get their food, but Sierra said she needed to use the facilities and said she would get the food herself. Jack handed the money over to her and when she was gone, Jack looked down at the steering wheel. "What happened back there? You could have crashed into another car."

"You never mentioned anything about getting hurt." Smokescreen said quietly.

Jack furrowed his brow at the tone and wondered why he was talking like that. "It wasn't important, I didn't get beat up and it wasn't like I couldn't was the mustard off my shirt."

"That Vince was a jerk!" Smokescreen said angrily and Jack looked around to make sure no one could hear that. "He had no right to hurt you."

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not worth it." Jack replied.

The response he got was downright ominous. "You don't know _what_ I'm thinking."

Jack tried to get Smokescreen to explain, but the mech remained silent and he had to stop asking when Sierra came back and his mind was in turmoil as he tried to think of what Smokescreen was planning. Hopefully he was just being paranoid and the mech was going to do anything.

Or at least that was what he was telling himself anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

After the movie ended, Jack 'drove' Sierra home and walked her to the door. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Should…should I kiss you now?"

Sierra blushed and leaned forward shyly. "Only if you want to."

Jack nodded, but the porch light started to flicker on and off and he reeled back. "Uh, no offense, but I'd like to keep my limbs."

Sierra pouted at the door, but shrugged it off. "None taken. So…you wanna do this again sometime?"

Jack smiled slightly. "That sounds like fun, though there's not much to do in Jasper is there?"

Sierra smiled back at him and touched his arm. "Well, we could just catch another movie, and it's nice talking to you."

"It's nice talking to you too." Jack replied bashfully and gently grabbed Sierra's hand, though he wondered if he really should risk a goodnight kiss. Quickly, he leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Sierra's cheek and pulled back with a blush. "Um, I'll see you later then."

Sierra blushed once more as well. "Yeah, see ya."

Jack walked down the porch and looked back as the redhead went inside her home and he got into the driver's seat. He was surprised when Smokescreen didn't immediately start to comment on the date and instead just drove off in silence. "What, no snarky remarks?"

"It wasn't what I expected." Smokescreen replied shortly.

Jack chuckled mirthlessly. "Well what were you expecting?"

"All you two did was talk and watch those earth videos." Smokescreen said sounding disappointed.

Jack stared at the dashboard in disbelief. Sure, he'd _joked_ about it, but to actually hear it being confirmed. "You really expected us to have sex in your backseat?"

"Well, isn't that what human courtship rituals are?" Smokescreen asked confused.

Jack leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes for a moment to think about how to proceed. "No, that's not what dating is; sure, it _can_ happen, but usually it's just getting to know people and see if you want them for a…husband or wife."

"What and what?" Smokescreen asked.

"A mate." Jack said flatly.

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Smokescreen retorted and was starting to sound cocky again now that he was getting it.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure our human ways are strange and foreign to you." He deadpanned.

Smokescreen chuckled at the teen's tone before he calmed down. "Oh, and that 'good friend' thing? I'm not good, I'm _great_." He said loftily.

Jack felt his lips turn up. "I'm sure you are." He said and then more cautiously added, "And a great friend would know I don't want him to get in trouble because of me."

Smokescreen didn't reply.

* * *

"Something wrong Jack?" Arcee asked after Jack got done work and noticed his anxious expression.

Jack bit his lip. "Well, I'm just nervous since last night…er…"

"Did Smokescreen do something?" Arcee questioned and was suddenly on alert.

Jack winced and rapidly shook his head. '_No, more like I put something in his head.'_ he thought and decided against telling Arcee about what Vince did and Smokescreen finding out about it. "He didn't do anything, he was perfectly well-behaved." He replied.

The teen could feel Arcee looking at him as if she was trying to detect some kind of lie, but after a moment she straightened up. "Well come on then."

Jack put on his helmet and the two of them were off to the Autobot's silo. He tried to remain calm as he could always question the mech when they got there. Well, he could question the mech _away_ from the others anyway. When they made it to the silo hideaway, Jack saw the disappointed look the Prime sent his way before Miko made her way from a still injured Bulkhead and to him, her expression shifting to one of delight.

"I told them about the prank you did, I didn't know you had another one in you." She said cheerfully.

Jack felt a sense of dread start to come over him. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Miko elbowed him playfully, not off-put by his confused expression. "I'm talking about this." She said and pulled out her cell phone and showed him a picture of Vince's car, though unlike the prank before, this time the car was completely covered in tar and the tires were gone. "We came out of the school and there it was, in his parking spot. Everybody was snapping pictures."

"I didn't do this." Jack said numbly.

Miko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right; after what Vince did to you I'd want pay back."

Arcee looked sharply down at Jack. "And what exactly did Vince do?"

Jack's lips thinned before he spoke reluctantly. "He slammed me against a table and smeared my lunch against my shirt for the prank I did before."

Arcee scowled. "You mean the one _Smokescreen_ helped you with."

"That wasn't his fault, I didn't exactly stop either." Jack replied and Miko snickered and he glared at her. "What?"

"Don't you like Sierra?" she asked slyly and Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"That has nothing to do with this." He retorted and Miko smiled at him in a strange way and he shook his head. "I don't have time for this." He muttered and walked further into the base and to the topside of the cliff to think. He had a pretty good idea of who had done that prank and he felt hurt that Smokescreen had ignored what he said.

Though a darker thought reminded him that it wasn't _Smokescreen_ they thought did the prank.

Jack shook his head once more and when he reached the cliff top he saw Smokescreen looking out over the edge. He strode forward purposefully. "Smokescreen!"

The mech looked back at him and smirked, though it fell when he saw the angry expression on Jack's face. "What?"

"Why didn't you leave it alone?" Jack questioned. "Everybody thinks I did the prank."

Smokescreen's optics widened. "What? That...that wasn't supposed to happen." He said quietly.

Jack stared up at him incredulously. "Then what was supposed to happen?"

"Not this!" Smokescreen retorted. "That jerk hurt you and I wanted him to pay him back. Why would anyone think you were involved?"

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could Smokescreen _not_ realize that Jack would get blamed for it? The teen had taken most of the heat at his school for it since no one else could know about the mech, and now after that incident in the cafeteria this new prank wouldn't look suspicious? "Smokescreen, I'm the one they thought pulled the last prank, they'll think it again with this new one."

"I didn't want you to get in trouble, you're my friend." Smokescreen replied earnestly.

The teen ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. "I'm not in trouble, they're just disappointed." He frowned as he saw an oncoming dust cloud and ran over to the edge to see his mother's car driving up and he paled. "Okay, now I'm in trouble." Jack moved away from the ledge and started to walk back to the exit leading back into the silo. He paused and looked back to see Smokescreen still standing at the edge. He opened his mouth to call him, but stopped and closed his mouth and kept on walking.

He met his mother by the exit so she couldn't chastise him in front of everyone else. She got out of the car and crossed his arms. "Do want to know who came to see me at work today?"

Jack grimaced and shook his head. "Who?"

"Vince's mother told me that her son said you vandalised his car, did you have any help this time?" June questioned in reference to Smokescreen.

"No, I didn't." he said and got into the passenger seat as June got back into the driver's seat.

"You will of course be paying to clean Vince's car up and replace the tires; his parents are being lenient and not pressing any charges." June said and kept her eyes on the road as she drove the car out of the silo. "You are extremely lucky that this wasn't more serious; why would you do this?"

"I…I was angry that he ruined my shirt." Jack said numbly and he didn't look back to see whether or not Smokescreen was still at the top of the cliff or not.

"You are grounded for three weeks, mister. You are to come straight home after you're done work, no Autobots, though I will allow Arcee to keep taking you to school and work." June said.

Jack looked down at his lap and nodded. '_No more dates, no Sierra…and no more Smokescreen for three whole weeks.'_


	6. Chapter 6

Jack ignored the look Sierra's friend was giving him as sat down beside the redhead; he was trying to avoid too Miko as he didn't want her to interrupt this. "We need to talk."

Sierra stilled. "About?"

"My mom found out about the prank, so I'm grounded for the next three weeks." Jack replied.

"Bummer." Sierra said. "And here I thought for out next date we could have gone to the monster truck rally."

Jack raised a brow. "You're into that?" he asked surprised. "Tell me, you ever met Miko before?"

Sierra's smile was a bit strained. "You meant that girl you're always hanging out with? Yeah, I've seen her around."

"She's into that stuff, maybe you could ask her to go with you." Jack suggested. "You shouldn't have to cancel your plans because I got in trouble."

Sierra frowned in concern. "Two pranks in such a short time? You were never like this before?"

"My friend, the one who lent me his sports car, said I'm fun when I'm bad." Jack chuckled dryly. "I have a feeling he likes me better when I loosen up though."

"You're fine the way you are." Sierra admitted with a blush.

Jack smiled slightly, ignoring the way the girl's friend rolled her eyes. Though it made him think for a moment; Smokescreen never called _him_ boring, just the tour they did, so what did he really think of him? He didn't want to keep doing things he knew were wrong just to keep the mech interested in him, but then what could he do?

A sudden jerk brought him out of his musings and he was pulled to his feet, coming face to face with Vince, the situation feeling familiar to the previous confrontation. "I'm already paying for your car damage, what else is there?"

"Vince, leave him alone!" Sierra said sternly.

Vince barely glanced at her as he reeled back his fist. "This." He said coldly and punched Jack in the face and the dark-haired boy jerked in his grip from the force. "Next time you do something, Darby, you're not getting off so easy." He hissed and let go of the teen before he marched away from him.

Jack clutched at his eye and felt hands helping him stand. "What…?"

"Come on, Jack, I'll help you to the nurses office." He heard Sierra say and didn't try to resist as they made their way out of the cafeteria. "Why didn't you fight back?"

"Because it wouldn't have helped things." Jack said honestly.

"And you thought pranking Vince in retaliation would have helped things too?" Sierra retorted.

Jack was about to retort, but realized he had nothing to say to that. "Can…can I get your word you won't repeat what I'm about to say to you?" he asked seriously.

The redhead looked surprised by the mood change, but nodded after a moment. "Sure, what is it?"

"I didn't pull that new prank, my friend did. He heard what Vince did to my shirt and wanted payback even though I didn't. He said he was sorry for getting me in trouble." Jack explained.

"Why are _you_ taking the blame for something _he_ did then?" Sierra asked in disbelief.

"He…uh, got in trouble once before with pranking and I didn't want it to happen again." Jack replied. "And I didn't want him to get into any more trouble."

"Jack…" Sierra trailed off uncertainly, "I'm sure you care about your friend, but is it worth it to get hurt _because_ of him?"

"I want him to speak up on his own; I don't want to lose his friendship after gaining it." Jack replied and his tone held finality to it.

Sierra looked as if she wanted to say more on the subject but dropped it and they continued down the hall the nurse's office.

* * *

Jack grimaced as he stared into the mirror on the bathroom wall. His mother had given him an ice pack for like the nurse had done earlier, but now the bruise under his eye was really starting to show. He just hoped it cleared up soon. He'd evaded his mother's questions and told her that he had only walked into a door.

She hadn't believed him, and neither had Arcee when she saw the black eye, but he refused to say how it happened. He wasn't going to let this cycle continue. If he did anything else then Vince just might break a _bone_ next time and then he really couldn't explain that.

After changing into his night clothes, Jack left the bathroom and made his way back to his room. He went to close the blinds on his window, but stared at the blue sports car at the sidewalk in front of his house. "What is he doing here?" he asked himself and sighed. He didn't know whether or not Arcee had relayed he wasn't allowed to see the other Autobots, but he might as well tell Smokescreen himself.

Jack left his room and pulled on his shoes. His mother had gone to bed just before he was going to, so he probably should shoo Smokescreen away before she either woke up or Arcee found out that the mech was here in the first place. The teen walked outside the closed the door gently behind him and made his way over to the mech. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't show up and-what happened to you eye?" Smokescreen's voice shifted from seeming concerned to barely contained anger.

Jack reflexively touched underneath his eye to cover it and flinched at feeling the bruise. "It'll heal, there's no worries," he said and decided to get the topic back on track, "and you're not allowed to be here, mom's grounded me."

"Then why is Arcee still allowed to see you?" Smokescreen retorted.

"She's my guardian." Jack shot back. "You'll get in trouble if she catches you; now go back to the base."

"That jerk did that to you, didn't he?" Smokescreen questioned angrily. "I knew I should have done something better."

"You shouldn't have done anything at all, I wasn't worth it." Jack replied.

"Yes you are, because you're _my_ friend." Smokescreen said heatedly. "You were never supposed to have gotten in trouble."

"We already went over this, because of the last prank everyone though I did this one; if you do something else to Vince then it'll only get worse." Jack pointed out. "Stay away from Vince." He warned and when the mech didn't reply, he put his hands onto the hood and leaned over to make his point, "please don't make this any worse."

"Be quicker then, Jack; he's not getting away with this." Smokescreen replied and Jack's eyes widened and he thought fast and hurried into the passenger seat. "What are you doing?"

The teen knew it was petty, but he had a feeling the mech wouldn't care much if he threatened to tell Arcee about this. Even if was still scared of her. "If you do this, then we both get in trouble."

"What? No, get out!" Smokescreen exclaimed.

"Or…" Jack felt himself tense up as he thought about what Sierra said. "If you do this, we can't be friends anymore."

Smokescreen stilled. "You can't do that, we're barely friends now!"

Jack tried to not to show how much that statement _hurt_, but he had to put his foot down on this matter. "Please, don't do this."

"But I'm doing this _for_ you." Smokescreen retorted sincerely.

Jack's eyes dimmed. "If you really want to do something for me, then go straight back to the base and forget you came here." He said and tentatively placed his hand onto the dashboard. "And if you're really my friend, then you should know by now that I don't want this."

Smokescreen didn't reply for such a long period of time that Jack was starting to get worried before the mech spoke. "Alright, Jack, for you…I won't do anything else to that jerk."

Jack smiled, in both relief and to humour him as he patted the dashboard. "That jerk's name is Vince."

Smokescreen let out a snort. "To me, he's going to be 'jerk.'"


	7. Chapter 7

Jack kicked the stone down the sidewalk and grumbled to himself as his pocket felt heavy with the money he had to give to Vince. His mother thought it was best that Jack did that himself instead of having her do it for him; she said it would make him learn from his mistakes. Though Jack wanted to keep Smokescreen out of trouble, his mind was still processing what Sierra had said. Friendship had a limit after all.

He heard a horn honk and looked over his shoulder at the blue sports car looking startled. Jack looked around quickly to make sure that no one was watching before he walked over to the car, windows tinted darkly enough that no one could see inside. "What are you doing here? Didn't you get the message that I'm not allowed to you 'Bots?"

"I got the memo, didn't feel it included me." Smokescreen retorted.

Jack glared at him. "Of course you wouldn't because we both know the truth, don't we?" he snapped and his shoulders sagged. "You really should go, someone could see you."

"I don't care about that; I just want to see you." Smokescreen replied.

Jack's felt his heart lift at the words, but it left a bitter taste in his mouth at the fact it came with the fact Smokescreen only admitted it because he was he was breaking the rules that his mother had set for him. "I wanted to see you to, but I don't want you in trouble. Well you saw me, now shoo." He said gesturing for Smokescreen to leave.

"Come on, at least let me give you a ride; teach me more of that human stuff." Smokescreen persisted.

Jack groaned and rubbed his forehead as he thought of what to do. The mech was going to go away, so what _could_ he really do? "Fine," he said defeated, "and then you leave, alright?"

"Got it." Smokescreen said opening the driver's door.

Jack got into the seat and put the seat belt on as the mech drove down the road. "The house is just down the down road, I'll tell you when to stop."

"So what are you doing out here anyway?" Smokescreen asked. "And where's Arcee?"

Jack snorted as he ignored the first question. "Like you really would have showed up if Arcee was with me." He said and the mech remained silent. He looked for the address his mother had given him from Vince's mom and had kept it from the mech where he was taking him because he didn't want there to be an incident of some kind. "Uh, stop here." He said and paled when Smokescreen drove into the driveway. "What are you doing?"

"Don't humans usually pull into these when at houses?" Smokescreen questioned. "I thought you'd be happy that I'm learning something."

Jack bit his lip and forced down his comment as he nodded stiffly. "Yeah, good for you." He mumbled and got out of the driver's seat and walked up to the door. He knocked and when Vince opened the door, he held out the money to him. "Here, take it." He said quickly.

Vince took the money and glanced off to the side and saw Smokescreen, recognition in his eyes and they narrowed. "Darby; you still got that new car huh?"

Jack flinched and glanced at Smokescreen himself and thought fast. "It's not my car, it's my friend's and asked me to take his car in for a tune-up."

Vince walked out of his houses and slowly circled around Smokescreen before standing in front of the hood, staring down at it contemplatively. "I knew someone like you couldn't have a car like this; it's too cool for you."

Jack glowered at him. "How would you know?"

"Your friend's first mistake was ever trusting you with his car." Vince said and kicked the hood chuckled darkly.

Jack cringed and kept a close eye on Smokescreen to make sure the mech didn't react. "Hey, leave the car alone. It isn't even mine, and my friend would be so mad if you did anything."

Vince glared at him and then down at the car before he scoffed and walked back to his house. "Like I need to get back at some other guy when I can still do it directly." He said and sharply leaned toward Jack when he passed then and still aware of the black eye he had, he cringed back and Vince smirked at him as he went inside the house and closed the door behind him.

Jack gently touched the bruise and sighed softly; he shook his head and walked back over to Smokescreen. "You can drop me off at the corner, it could seem less suspicious." He said and got into the 'car.'

"Why didn't you say this was the jerk's house?" Smokescreen asked darkly.

Jack's eyes widened slightly and he stared sternly down at the steering wheel. "You can't do anything to him still." He warned and the mech huffed. "And I knew you'd say something if I told you."

"Of course I'd say something!" Smokescreen said heatedly as he put the seatbelt onto Jack himself, only for the buckle to poke into his neck. Jack winced as he held his neck and felt it sting. "Jack, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Jack pulled his hand away, relieved that it was bleeding. "It's okay, no harm, no foul." He replied softly and gently brushed his hand against the steering wheel with his free hand to try and help calm the mech down. "Just take me to the crosswalk." He said and the mech drove to the designated area and Jack got out of the seat. "And please, stay away; this punishment will be over soon."

"Not soon enough." Smokescreen muttered and continued to drive on.

Jack watched him leave and sighed as he rubbed his neck and walked the rest of the way back home.

* * *

When June saw the hickey on Jack's neck, she felt outraged that he had broken her rules and sent him to his room and since he wouldn't tell her no matter what she said; June had to go to the Autobot base to ask Miko or Raf if they had seen Jack at school with Sierra. She wondered what was going on with Jack lately, but he was reserved about the prank he pulled and about where he got his black eye.

It scared her that something worse was going on, and she needed to find out what was happening.

Once she reached the Autobot base, June walked into the main room and saw Miko and Raf on the platform playing video games. "Miko, Raf." She called out to them as she approached them.

"Uh, hi Mrs. Darby." Raf said politely as he paused the game and Miko pouted and crossed her arms.

"Have either of you two seen Jack and Sierra together?" June asked.

Miko perked up. "No, why?"

"Because they can't see each other." June replied. "Jack had a hickey and he wouldn't tell me where he got it."

Miko snickered and Raf blushed, though the 'Bots looked confused by this term. "He didn't get it from Sierra, that's for sure. They never sit together at lunch anymore either."

June looked contemplative. "Why won't he tell me what's going on?" she asked herself. "He's starting to worry me."

Bumblebee beeped in confusion and Raf's blush reddened. "Um, well, 'Bee; a hickey is something that happens when the skin breaks on the neck or arm and it bruises."

Miko snickered once more. "It also happens when someone sucks a neck too hard." She added flippantly.

"But I'm sure it happened accidentally." Raf spoke up quickly.

"Or someone else at school's got to him." Miko interjected.

June looked worried and shook her head. "If this keeps up, I don't know…"

"Don't…don't blame Jack for all this." Smokescreen said from his spot against the wall. His lips pursed as he debated whether to continue going on, but he didn't want anything else to happen to Jack. And with how June was talking it couldn't be good. "I…I went to see him."

June whirled around, her expression disbelieving. "_What?_"

"I went to see Jack, he had no idea and I bugged him until he let me go along with him." Smokescreen continued. "That jerk made me angry, and I accidently hurt Jack."

June went pale as she realized what the hickey was and Optimus looked sternly at the mech. "Smokescreen!"

Smokescreen winced at the tone in the Prime's voice. "I said I was sorry!"

"You gave Jack a hickey?" Miko asked, and there was a strange tone to her voice like she wasn't sure whether to be gleeful or quiet.

"I don't think this counts, Miko." Raf added softly.

"What else have you done?" June asked accusingly and Smokescreen held up his hands defensively.

"I didn't give him that black eye, I was just as shocked to see him with it." He replied. "He's my friend; I wouldn't have hurt him on purpose." He paused and decided it was time to own up to everything. "And…Jack wasn't the one who did that to the jerk's car, I did. He didn't say anything because he said he didn't want me to get in trouble."

"Then what stopped _you_ from saying something?" Bulkhead asked sharply.

Smokescreen jutted his chin up and stared defiantly back at the mech. "That's none of your business." He said tersely.

June shook her head incredulously before she stared up at the mech. "You're the reason my son is hurt? I think it would be best if you stayed away from Jack."

"But I got back at the jerk _for_ him!" Smokescreen retorted angrily and he reeled back, his expression shifting to one of regret. "He was never supposed to have been blamed for it."

"Smokescreen, with this startling news, I have to agree with Mrs. Darby." Optimus said looking at Smokescreen with disappointment. "You are to stay away from Jack, and you are not allowed to leave the base, understood?"

The mech clenched his fists, gritted his denta, but nodded in resignation. He knew he would have gotten in trouble for what he did, but he didn't think it would cost him the very thing he was trying to get back.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack sat up on his bed as his mother came into his room, he'd been waiting for her to give him his punishment when she got back, but he didn't expect her to hug him. "Mom, what's the matter?"

His mother pulled back, a stern look crossing her face. "Why didn't you just tell me that you didn't do any of this?"

Understanding showed in Jack's eyes as he realized what she meant. "Smokescreen told you what happened?"

"He said he hurt you-" June said and Jack cut her off.

"It was an accident, I swear! He wouldn't have hurt me on purpose." He replied.

"From what he said, he seems to have done it already." June replied and Jack sighed. "I was so worried that there was something wrong, why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I didn't want Smokescreen to get in trouble, he's my friend; I wanted him to say something on his own because I thought he'd do the right thing. I didn't want him to hate me for ratting him out." Jack explained.

"Jack, Smokescreen didn't just tell me, everyone at the base heard him; and…Optimus and I came to the agreement that Smokescreen should stay away from you for the time being. You are still grounded for the rest of the week for keeping this from me, but you can go back to the base after that." June replied.

Jack frowned. "But he did that prank for me, sure it was misguided, but he didn't mean any harm; no one got hurt."

"Regardless, he still hurt you." June replied. "And until I can be sure it won't happen again, my decision is final." She hugged Jack once more as he crossed his arms defiantly. "This is for the best, and it'll give Smokescreen time to think over what you mean to him."

"What are you talking about? He's my friend." Jack said insistently.

"Jack, the actions speak louder, and Smokescreen doesn't seem like a very good friend." June replied honestly.

Jack frowned again and looked away in contemplation. He'd threatened to end their friendship if Smokescreen did anything to Vince, what kind of friend did that make him? _'Looks like we both need time to see what we mean to each other then.'_

* * *

"Mind if I sit here?" Jack asked as he walked up to Sierra.

The redhead looked up at him, the bruise under his eye concealed with cover-up, but she narrowed her eyes at the hickey on his neck. "Wouldn't you rather sit with your new squeeze?"

Jack blinked before he blushed. "It's not what you think! You see, my friend kinda got…upset and, er, he sorta hit me by accident…"

Sierra's brief flash of envy turned into concern. "Is this the same friend who keeps getting you in trouble?" she asked and Jack remained silent. "Did he do something again?"

"No, he spoke up and told his…dad and my mom that he was the one who did the prank. They said we weren't allowed to see each other for a while, but my mom said I was free from grounded when the week is over." Jack replied.

"Well, this is for the best, right?" Sierra asked and tried to brighten the mood. "But that means we can go on another date, right?"

Jack glanced at her, and tried to smile, but it fell flat. "I guess we can."

"We could go to the movies on Sunday night, to celebrate your freedom." Sierra said.

Jack nodded absently. "Yeah, that sounds cool, but you might be uncomfortable with riding on a motorcycle…"

"It'll be fine, it doesn't matter what kind of ride you have." Sierra cut in swiftly.

Jack furrowed his brow, but nodded. "Well okay then."

"Are you sure you're alright though? You seem kind of…out of it." Sierra said in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jack assured her and his voice lowered, "I really am."

* * *

Jack looked around the school parking lot, wondering where Arcee was. She was usually back when he got out of school. "Jack! Hey Jack! Over here!"

Jack looked over at the sidewalk as Miko waved at him from Bumblebee's alt-mode. He walked over, and raised his brow. "What's going on? Did Arcee have a mission?"

"No and yes, she found out what Smokescreen did and went to tear him a new one!" Miko retorted. "But then they had to go on a mission with him."

"Miko!" Raf said sharply as Jack's eye twitched.

"She did? But she didn't need to…when did she leave?" Jack asked.

"Earlier, so Arcee asked 'Bee to drive you to work." Raf explained.

"Ah, thanks 'Bee." Jack said and got inside the backseat to sit beside Miko. There was a beeping and Jack assumed that was 'Bee's reply.

"So, it was really Smokescreen who gave you that hickey?" Miko asked bluntly and Jack flushed.

"Miko!" Raf said exasperatedly.

"Don't tell me," Jack said rubbing his forehead, "you and Raf were there when Smokescreen told Optimus and my mom about what happened?"

"Yeah, he really seems to like you, kept calling you his friend." Miko replied excitedly.

Jack raised a brow. "When he _is_ my friend, so I'd assume he likes me."

Miko's smile turned sly. "You two like each other a lot, don't you?"

Jack furrowed his brow. "What are you getting at?"

Miko stared at him incredulously. "You really can't see it? Man, you two are _sooo_ dense!" she snapped frustrated.

"Why would _you_ care anyway?" Jack asked annoyed. What was she talking about?

Miko's tone became patronizing. "Think about it, Jack; what is Smokescreen to you?"

"My friend." Jack said automatically and grew confused when Miko let out a growl. "What is with you lately? Why all the questions?"

"Because you're both total idiots, that's why!" Miko shouted.

Jack looked at Raf, who was looking back at Miko, also seeming confused. "You know what she's talking about?" he asked and Raf shook his head.

"Jack," Miko said grabbing Jack by the shoulders, "you and Smokescreen totally have the hots for each other!"

Jack raised a brow once more before he shook his head. "Are you sure you're not just seeing what you what to see? Because I don't think how we interact with each other is romantic in nature, we just like spending time with each other."

"You went on a date!" Miko accused.

"Smokescreen offered to be the ride, and the person I went out with was Sierra." Jack retorted and Miko waved it off.

"Details, but he still offered and you still accepted." She replied. "And even now you're seriously acting like you just got dumped. You weren't even this upset when you couldn't see Sierra."

"We barely got to know each other, and now we can't see one another, while I've known Sierra for years, of course I'd be more upset." Jack retorted and when Bumblebee beeped, he looked outside and saw that he and Miko had been arguing the whole way to KO Burger. "Face it Miko, Smokescreen and I _are_ just friends." He said getting out of the backseat.

"You still think about it, and you'll see I'm right!" Miko called after him.

Jack looked back at her and shook his head. "This coming from someone who _doesn't_ think, why would I believe you?" he asked before he kept on walking toward the establishment, trying hard to ignore the thought that maybe Miko had a point after all.

Because as it were, Jack couldn't deny that his actions in the beginning were how he'd tried to ask Sierra out when they were younger.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Contains spoilers for Alpha/Omega.**

* * *

"It's my last day; you think I can go out with Sierra tonight?" Jack asked, though his tone was lacklustre as he knew it was a bad idea to put it off, though he'd been distracted as of late.

June looked at him incredulously. "Are you just _now_ asking me this?" she asked and her eyes softened as she saw the guilty look in Jack's eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I know you upset about what almost happened to Smokescreen, and that the Autobots could be leaving, but you have to get out of this daze."

"Does this mean I can go?" Jack questioned, though he didn't sound hopeful.

June sighed and nodded. "Just be back by midnight, and I don't care how long your movie is, you _will_ be back by then, got it, mister?" she asked sternly and Jack nodded.

The teen was about to turn away, when he realized he didn't want to bother Arcee with being a chaperone on his date. "Hey, mom, can I borrow your car?"

"Can't Arcee take you?" June asked surprised and saw Jack's eyes dim. "Honey, I could be called into work if there's an emergency, and-"

Jack looked alarmed. "No, I get it. I guess I'll ask her if she wants to." He said and headed for the garage. He slowed to a stop as he recalled that the Autobots had begun to learn how to _text_ and call them. Jack reached into his pocket, his lips pursing in thought. Would it be worth it to go behind everyone's back for a few hours together?

Jack's eyes dimmed once more as he thought it wouldn't matter, seeing as the 'Bots were going to be leaving sometime soon anyway. Making up his mind, Jack put his phone back into his pocket and made his way over to Arcee when he entered the garage. "Hey, Arcee, can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Jack?" Arcee questioned.

"Do you miss Cybertron?" Jack asked and Arcee was silent for a moment.

"I do, why do you ask?" Arcee replied.

Jack tried to make his shrug look noncommittal. "It's just…I don't want you to spend your last days on Earth being cooped up. You can go back to the Autobots sooner."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Arcee asked.

Jack blinked and shook his head. "No, I just don't want to make our goodbyes harder than they have to be, 'cause I'm gonna miss 'Cee. You're like my big sister."

"You think of me as a sister?" Arcee questioned and Jack nodded. "I would miss you to, Jack, but if you really think you can handle being without me…"

Jack chuckled dryly. "Trust me; I think I can spend a few hours on my own fine."

"Well, alright then." Arcee said as her hologram formed and Jack went over to the garage door and opened it to let Arcee out. He watched her drive away before he brought the door back down and took out his cell phone again. While he'd meant what he said, he couldn't have her still here or it'd be suspicious. _:Hey, Smokescreen, you wanna go on a date?:_

The reply didn't come for almost a full two minutes, and Jack suspected the mech had debated whether or not to even answer the call in the first place. _:…What?:_

_:I need a ride to take Sierra out to the movies, wondered if you'd want to volunteer like before, and I need to talk with you:_

_:You sure I'm not too dangerous to be around, like everyone else thinks?:_

Jack blinked at the questioned, and rubbed the fading mark on his neck. _: Of course I don't. I like you a lot, Smokescreen, and I want to spend time with you while you're still on Earth:_

_:We're going to get into even more trouble if we do this:_

_:I know, but even if it's for just a little while, we still need to talk:_

Smokescreen didn't reply for the longest time, and Jack was getting nervous. He knew whatever Arcee had told him when they went on their mission must have affected him. _:…Alright then, we're do you wanna meet?:_

_:At the corner of where my home is; I'll meet you there in an hour:_

_:I'll be there:_

* * *

"I'm leaving now, mom!" Jack called as he headed out into the garage.

"Have a nice time, Jack!" June called back before Jack closed the door.

The teen went over to the garage hatch and opened the door, moving under it before he set it back down and jogged down the sidewalk toward the stop sign. He rubbed his hands together nervously, feeling more nervous about talking with Smokescreen than going on his date with Sierra. Ever since he learned Smokescreen had almost _died_, he'd been forced to re-evaluate what their friendship was actually like.

While he hated to admit it, even to himself, Miko maybe had a more than a point to what she was saying.

In the beginning, Jack really had just wanted the mech's friendship, he'd become to like the mech more and more with the time they had spent together. Could he have had a crush and just not been aware of it, until Miko so _thoughtfully_ made him notice? Or was it just the face he thought he'd really lost Smokescreen that made him realize it? He didn't know _what_ triggered it, but Jack could at least admit he liked Smokescreen a lot, and he needed to talk to the mech about it.

And he needed to talk to Sierra too. With Smokescreen he felt alive, normal, but with Sierra he didn't really feel anything.

Jack noticed Smokescreen pulling up next to him and he smiled at him before he got into the driver's seat. "Hey, Smokescreen, it's good to see you again."

"Did you want to talk now, or after?" Smokescreen questioned.

"After." Jack said decidedly. He felt the mech driver along the street and he absently patted the steering wheel. "You know remember where to go or do you need some help?" he teased.

Smokescreen huffed indignantly. "Please, of course I know where that girl lives." He said and paused. "It's down the left, right?"

"Right." Jack said leaning back into the seat and crossed his arms. When they came upon Sierra's house, Jack patted the dashboard. "Congratulations, you did it all one your own." He said and Smokescreen made another huff as Jack got out and walked up the driveway. He knocked on the door and it opened to reveal Sierra, who smiled upon seeing him. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Sierra replied walking out of her house and closed the door behind her, but her smiled faded a little as soon as she saw the car they were taking. "Your friend lent you his car, again?"

"Uh, yeah, he's a really great guy." Jack said and got back into the driver's seat while Sierra took the passenger's.

Sierra looked around the interior. "This is the same guy who's been getting you into trouble, right?" she asked putting the seatbelt on.

"He's really sorry about it, but like I said, he confessed to what he did." Jack replied a tad defensively. "And he's not so bad once you get to know him. _I_ like him a lot."

Sierra stared thoughtfully at Jack and looked out the window. "I see."

Jack looked at the road in front of him and made a show of pressing his foot down on the gas pedal.

* * *

"This," Sierra paused after the movie had ended and Jack was driving her home, "I had a nice time again."

Jack nodded absently. "Look, we need to talk."

Sierra blinked and looked a bit sad. "You just get right to it, don't you?"

Jack blushed at his bluntness. "Sorry, but it's important." He said and neither of them made a move to leave the car once Jack parked it on the side of the road in front of Sierra's house.

"It's about your 'great guy,' isn't it?" Sierra asked knowingly.

Jack grimaced; first Miko, and now Sierra? Was he making it too obvious before this? "Yeah, it kinda is." He said vaguely because he knew Smokescreen was listening, but he didn't want the mech to find out like this.

Sierra pursed her lips and sagged her shoulders. "Well, then I hope he makes you happy." She said softly and made a move to leave the car.

"I could still walk you to the door?" Jack offered, but Sierra shook her head.

"No, I can do that myself." She said, though she paused at the window. "But tell me, did you at least like me?"

Jack looked guiltily back at her. "I did, once."

"But you just like him more." Sierra added. "Well, maybe now you'll stop looking so down." She said and walked up to her house.

Jack looked at the steering wheel. "Now it's time for us to talk."

"Jack, whatever I did, I didn't mean for this to happen." Smokescreen replied.

"You never mean for anything to happen, do you?" Jack questioned softly, but he shook his head. "It wasn't because of you; it was because of me…and my relation to you."

"I…I don't understand what you're saying." Smokescreen said confused.

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He wondered if the direct approach would be the best way to handle this. "I have what is called a 'crush' on you, it means that I'm interested in you…romantically." He said blushing.

Smokescreen was silent for a moment. "Oh, well, uh, was that it?" he asked distractedly.

Jack felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "Yeah, that was it." He said listlessly. "You can drop me off at the corner by my home." The teen felt detached as Smokescreen drove down the road. "If you don't feel the way I do about you, then what am I to you?"

"You're still my friend, and you were accepting of me." Smokescreen replied.

Jack glanced down at the steering wheel. "I just thought I couldn't keep this to myself, which you should know before you all found the Omega Keys and left. We'd never see each other after that, and there'd be nothing significant about me to stay in your processor."

"That's not true, you've managed to surprise me a few times, including tonight." Smokescreen said.

Jack smiled slightly. "This isn't exactly a good thing to be remembered by, that I'm only important to you because we broke the rules together."

"You're important to me for other reasons." Smokescreen retorted.

As Jack saw the drop-off point near, he gathered his resolve to say all of what he wanted. Whether or not this made any difference, he didn't care now. He just wanted to say his piece, or else he'd regret having never done it at all.

"Smokescreen, I asked you out here tonight, because I really did have more to say." He admitted. "I can respect that you don't have feelings for me, like I do for you, but I just want you to know…you'll always be my friend too. Even _if_ all this is, is just a crush." He said and when the car stopped, he got out of the driver's seat, though he patted the hood as he walked around the mech. "I may not be the most open of people, but you make me feel normal, alive, and though how we went about it was not the greatest of ways, thanks for being my friend."

Smokescreen sounded a bit stunned, much like on the night Jack gave him his ultimatum about not getting back at Vince. "You're welcome."

Jack smiled slightly once again. "I know I've said it a lot, but I guess this is the last time we're gonna see each other for a while."

"It won't last." Smokescreen said confidently. "We'll see each other soon enough."

Jack nodded and made his way down the sidewalk back to his home. "I hope we will." He said under his breath.


	10. Chapter 10

"Gee, Jack, you look like someone ran over your dog, I'd think you wouldn't take breaking up with Sierra this badly." Miko said idly as she sat down by Jack in the cafeteria.

Jack, who had been staring dourly down into his sandwich, glared at Miko abruptly. "How did you…?"

"Overheard her." Miko replied shrugging. "She really needs to keep her voice down. You shouldn't be this sad if it was _you_ who broke up with her." She said and her eyes suddenly lit up. "OMG! Did you finally realize your totally tragic love for Smokescreen?!"

Jack reeled back, though that last part struck a bad cord with him. "Tragic?" he repeated flatly. "This isn't some book or movie, real life doesn't work like that; as in neither of us like each other _that_ much."

"But you do." Miko insisted smugly. Her smile fell a little when she saw that Jack seemed to wilt at that. "You do." She repeated in a softer tone. "You gonna tell him?"

Jack frowned. "What's there to tell? He wouldn't return my feelings, it's that simple." He said, though privately he thought to himself, '_Because I already told him._'

* * *

Smokescreen was bored, as being 'grounded' really wasn't fun. He couldn't even go topside like before! Optimus really hadn't liked what he and Jack had been doing, but he couldn't be sorry for not doing it. Sure, he _did_ feel guilty that Jack and he couldn't see each other and ended up accidently hurting him, but when they were together there was…just _something__ there._

He couldn't explain the feeling, and it frustrated him. So now he was both bored _and_ frustrated.

As everyone but Ratchet was gone on an impromptu energon excavation, and the medic wasn't in the mood to talk with him after his failed attempt to sneak out and see Jack. Ratchet was in full agreement with Optimus that the separation would be good; as he seemed to think that he had a negative influence on Jack. Smokescreen snorted, he was the bad influence? Clearly they weren't going to believe that Jack asked him out last night.

Smokescreen's already foul mood plummeted more as he thought of the confusing night and the revelation Jack had shared with him. It irritated him that he hadn't been able to come up with a solid reply and instead had tried to brush it off. Jack already caught him by surprise with his text message, but he hadn't expected the reveal of his feelings to really catch him off guard.

He liked Jack, he really did, but he just hadn't realized Jack was interested in him romantically. When had it happened? He supposed it didn't really matter when, as he recalled the look on Jack's face when he brushed him off. He could always try to sneak out again to go and talk to him, but Ratchet would probably catch him, as the only reason he hadn't been caught before was that he said he was going to recharge.

He didn't think that excuse would work twice.

Smokescreen had to prove to Optimus that he could be competent, that he wouldn't harm Jack, and what better way than to try and find some energon? It seemed like the right choice, and if he failed if wasn't like it was a total loss. But then Optimus could make this punishment even severer, and that would suck.

He shook his helm and made his way to the control room; if he was quiet enough, Ratchet might get suspicious enough to see what he was doing. But when he got to the room, he chuckled sheepishly to himself. The medic wasn't there, go figure. 'He must have gone to check something out' he thought and went over to the ground bridge and used the history on it to find a location he could go to that had already revealed something worth investigating.

It wasn't like another look around would hurt, right?

When the bridge powered up, Smokescreen took careful aim for the control. He couldn't turn it off behind him, as it was too far to reach, but he could still make sure it closed as to avoid letting the others know what he had done. He fired, and then high-tailed it to the other side to avoid getting splinched. When he reached the end, he found the frozen wasteland to be cold and hoped his search wouldn't take long.

* * *

Once the school day ended, Jack saw Miko looking disappointed as she glanced around for Bulkhead, but he found it strange that Arcee and Bumblebee weren't there either. "Maybe there on a mission."

Miko pouted and crossed her arms. "Not cool, and you're no fun to tease anymore now that you've finally admitted you love Smokescreen."

Jack blushed. "I wouldn't go throwing around the 'L' word if I were you." He retorted and walked down the steps. "Looks like you're walking then."

Miko huffed. "Can't you call your mom to pick us up?"

"I'm not gonna call my mom to take us to the base, being away from the 'Bots for a day isn't going to kill you." Jack replied.

"Says the guy who can't see his boyfriend now." Miko retorted. "Huh, I can make fun of you still."

Jack rolled his eyes and walked down the sidewalk. "Whatever, I'll see you at the base tomorrow." He said and he felt the heat rise in his face as Miko's digs had really gotten to him.

* * *

Smokescreen wasn't keeping track of time, as he really didn't think there was anything wrong. It was cold, but he didn't think this meant anything and had no need to contact the others. They hadn't contacted him, but if they did, he had no doubt they would be angry with him, so he had to find something useful and fast.

The wind had started to pick up, and the clouds overhead began to darken, but he still kept walking. This was supposed to be the area for where the last useful item was stored, or so he thought anyway. He'd never actually looked to what had been found up here after all, he'd just been so determined to prove that he wasn't some immature bot.

He could be helpful, and he was going to be. He had been thinking of Arcee's words of how self-centered he'd been, and he realized she was right. It hadn't stopped him though from actually going through with the date with Jack, or seeing him when he wasn't supposed too; Jack had sought him out after he snuck him out on a mission, and tried to make it up to him.

Jack wanted his friendship, and Smokescreen had wanted acceptance. It was a nice trade, and he didn't want things to become awkward between them; he liked Jack too much to lose him. He knew from what Jack had said, it was the reason he'd decided to tell him about his feelings, because it sounded like Jack couldn't stand the thought of losing him too.

Smokescreen shivered as he was certainly starting to feel the cold now that it had started to snow while he had been thinking. He frowned to himself; he really should have found something by now. Was it really all gone? No, he had to keep looking.

He _would_ find something here.

* * *

"I can't believe him, of all the irresponsible-"

"Arcee?" Jack questioned as he went out into the garage. He noticed she was coming down the drive and let her in, but he didn't expect her to be so angry. "What happened?"

"Smokescreen." Arcee said coldly. "He damaged the ground bridge. Ratchet says it'll take a few hours to fix at best." She explained. Jack frowned. "Why would he do that?"

"Who knows, but he snuck out too, probably didn't want anyone to find out where he went." Arcee said and paused. "Jack, have you seen Smokescreen around?"

Jack blinked and scowled. "What, no, I haven't." he retorted. "Is that what happened, did you all have to walk back or something?"

"No, the ground bridge malfunctioned after we came through." Arcee replied. "So if still want to catch a ride to the base, we're driving."

"Well, someone has to make sure Miko doesn't get in trouble." Jack said, but he wanted to go to make sure Miko didn't give away his feelings. He got onto the seat and put his helmet on, his grip tightening on the handle bars. "Wait, where did Smokescreen end up going?"

Arcee didn't reply, no matter how much Jack tried to get the answer out of her. He was starting to get worried that something else was going on, and that they weren't supposed to know.

"Is Smokescreen hurt?" Jack questioned.

"We don't know; we'll find out once we get to him." Arcee said in a clipped tone.

Jack's stomach tied into a knot as called out to his mother where he was going. "Oh." He said in a softer tone and he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice how far they'd been driving until he saw the Cliffside wall rise up. When they got inside the base, Jack went straight over to Miko and Raf. "Have they said anything?"

"About your boy-" Miko started, but Jack growled at her and she faltered. She turned up her nose and crossed her arms. "No, they haven't said anything about him other than how irresponsible he is."

"Arcee said the same thing." Jack replied and the three of them walked over to the human living space on the platform. "When the bridge is fixed, I just hope they find him fast."

"Don't worry Jack, I'm sure they will." Raf said reassuringly.

"But even then, I'm pretty sure the 'Bots won't let you see him anyway." Miko pointed out. "You two aren't allowed to see each other," she paused and looked at him slyly, "or has Smokescreen started to rub off on you?"

Jack flushed and ignored her questioning. "Raf, you wanna play a video game?"

"Sure." Raf answered and the two of them sat on the couch in front of the television.

Miko lifted her legs onto the coffee table. "I'll play winner."

* * *

Smokescreen's knee joints had finally frozen over, and he fell into the snow. His optics brightened as he tried to stand, but it was next to impossible, he couldn't even crawl. The snowfall had escalated into a blizzard, and the temper had dropped significantly. His whole body became to freeze and he started to get warnings about his systems shutting down.

How could have he not found something out here? Not even someplace to shelter him, and now he was going to freeze to death because he'd wanted to prove himself. Did the others know he was gone by now? Were they looking, or were they angry at him? He could answer that second question with a 'yes.' What would happen to his body? Would it fall under by some crack in the ground?

He had just started to like earth, even with all of its rules about driving. He especially knew he should have become attached now that they had a way of getting back to Cybertron and restoring the planet. He would miss earth, he would miss Jack.

Smokescreen's optics dimmed; would Jack miss him? It felt wrong to hope the answer would be yes, that Jack cared enough to mourn his absence.

Because for all the talk of how much they liked each other as friends, neither one had said they cared, and Smokescreen regretted that. He did care, but he just couldn't say it after the confession had caught him so off guard, and now he'd never be able to.

His optics shut down, but before they did, Smokescreen swore he saw a green glow in the distance. 

* * *

___"__Ratchet_," Optimus' voice boomed over the intercom___, "_open the ground bridge and prepare the defroster."

Jack stiffened. "Did something happen?"

"Was it 'Cons?" Miko asked.

Jack gave her a look. "Miko, how could anyone need to defrost from a 'Con attack, unless they had freeze ray of course."

Miko's eyes lit up. "Oh, having a freeze ray would be so cool!" she exclaimed and Jack rolled his eyes, but he turned his gaze to the ground bridge portal.

He waited with bated breath as it glowed, and the first to come out was Arcee, followed by a rushing Bulkhead and Bumblebee, and finally Optimus came into the base, but Jack felt his chest constrict as he saw what he was holding. Smokescreen's body looked iced over and his optics were shut; he looked dead.

'_Don't let that happen._' Jack thought as he watched Smokescreen get placed into a tube, which started to blast him with hot air. His eyes stayed clued to Smokescreen, so he didn't notice the way Miko opened her mouth to speak, but Raf shook his head.

Arcee noticed where Jack's gaze was locked onto, and she walked over to him. "Smokescreen will be fine."

Jack bit his lip. "I hope so." He whispered.

Optimus turned around to address them. "Take the children home, it is growing late."

"I'm staying." Jack said firmly and crossed his arms defiantly. Miko and Raf both looked at each other, but as they were the only ones actually privy to the reason behind Jack's words, they walked over to their guardians.

"Jack, Smokescreen will be fine." Arcee repeated.

Jack shook his head stubbornly. "No, I'm not leaving until I see with my own eyes that Smokescreen's going to be okay. He's my friend, and I thought I had lost him once."

"You both grew that close?" Arcee asked surprised and Jack nodded.

He sat down on the couch and kept his arms crossed. "I'll stay here until Smokescreen wakes up."

"What about your mother, she'll worry, and you have school tomorrow." Arcee argued.

Jack's crossed arms tightened. "I'm still staying, I can call mom outside the base and tell her why I'm not going back. She won't like it, but she'll understand why." He said and made his way to the top of the silo.

Arcee frowned as she crossed her own arms and glared at Smokescreen. "He's the 'cause of all this, Jack wouldn't be acting like that if it wasn't for him."

"Arcee…" Optimus said in reprimand. "Perhaps if you spoke with him, you would understand his reasons for remaining here."

"Do you even get why he doesn't want to go?" Arcee questioned.

"There is something keeping them together, perhaps their closeness is the result of their shared experience on the mission they went on." Optimus replied calmly.

"The mission Smokescreen took him on." Arcee muttered. "Alright, I'll _try_." She said and followed Jack up to the top of the silo, where she found him talking with on his cell phone.

"Yes mom, I understand." He paused and smiled slightly. "See ya later." He hung up and saw Arcee standing in the doorway. "Mom said she understood my reasons, but I'm grounded until I'm twenty-five." He said shrugging.

"Then explain to me your reasons, you barely know Smokescreen." Arcee said. "How could you have gotten so close in such a short amount of time?"

Jack shrugged once more. "I wanted to hang out with him, to make up for getting him in trouble. Going with him was my decision, he might have asked me, but I still went with him." he explained. "I enjoyed the time we spent together while he was grounded, and we built on it from there."

"There's something else." Arcee said suspiciously.

Jack flushed. "Well, I like him, I care about him, do I really need any other reason?" he asked. "I felt sick when I learned that he'd almost gotten killed, and since we couldn't see each other at the time I couldn't be there to see if he was really okay; I don't want it to happen again." He said with conviction.

"Then I guess we'd both better settle in." Arcee said after a moment of contemplation, and Jack looked at her in surprise. "Don't get me wrong, I still think Smokescreen was irresponsible, for this and bringing you on that mission," her voice lowered, "but if you're really that determined to be with him, then I'm not gonna let you wait alone, partner."

Jack smiled once more. "Thanks, partner." He said and they both walked down to the main room. Jack settled onto the couch again, while Arcee transformed into vehicle mood at the bottom of the stairs. Jack kept his gaze locked onto Smokescreen's frozen faceplate, wishing they could open or do _something_ to show that he was still alive.

Jack didn't know how long he'd been staring, but his eyes drooped closed and he slid onto the couch limply. When he opened them, he found himself lying half way off the couch. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, but froze at the sight of the empty tube. Where did Smokescreen go? Jack got up and looked around wildly, the constriction in his chest lessening when he spotted the mech lying on a berth hooked up to a monitor. The steady beating of the monitor calmed him as it showed Smokescreen was at least still alive.

Jack made his way over to the berth, and looked around for a way to get up to Smokescreen. He didn't want to wake up Arcee, as he had no idea what time it was. He flushed when he saw that the platform extended around to the console, and over where the berth was stationed. Jack hurried back up the steps before making his way over to the berth.

He went over the rail and jumped down onto the berth, grunting as he hit the surface. It was a bite steeper than he thought, and he rubbed his elbow from the impact. Jack walked over to Smokescreen's faceplate, as he didn't want to climb all over him; he was going to stay on the berth surface.

"I…" Jack trailed off and chuckled nervously. "You're not even awake and I can't talk to you normally." He said and the only sound was the beeping of the monitor. His expression turned serious as he stepped forward, his heart pounding against his chest. "Please be okay, you've grown on me a lot." He said wryly as his feelings toward him were anything but platonic. "I don't want to lose you, but I guess we'll still be separated when you leave. Even with this rule keeping us apart, I still thought we could make the most of the time we have left." He said and placed his hand on Smokescreen's cheek plating. "I really care about you, you're more than just my friend to me." He said and leaned forward.

Jack stopped before he could kiss the plating though, and shook his head. It wasn't fair to kiss him like this; he'd only do it if Smokescreen wanted him too. He looked around the edge of the berth for a way to get down, but he thought he might have to slide down one of the berth legs to do it.

Creaking came from behind him, and Jack turned around, his eyes meeting a pair of dimly lit optics. He felt his chest constrict once more.

* * *

Smokescreen came back into consciousness by the sound of voices, which he recognized as Optimus and Ratchet discussing how long it would take for him to defrost and warm back up. He'd already felt his systems start to come back online thanks to some outside help, the beeping of a monitor telling him what he needed to. He could barely move, but he still felt weak due to the freezing temperature he'd been in.

He drifted into recharge, but crash had him attempting to open his optics, but he stopped when he heard a voice very close to him start speaking. It was Jack. He spoke of how he didn't want to lose him, the rule that was keeping them apart, and he felt something small, but warm on his cheek when Jack told him he saw him as more than a friend, and just how much he cared for him.

Smokescreen had never heard Jack say that to him before, and it brought a warm feeling to his spark. He opened his optics and turned his helm, his neck cables creaking with strain as he stared at Jack's back.

Jack turned around, his eyes locking onto his, and grew wide in the process. "You're awake." He said softly and walked back over to him.

"Yeah." Smokescreen said weakly. "Do you…mean it?"

Jack furrowed his brow before seemed to get what Smokescreen asked him. "Yes," he said with his face turning red, "I really care about you. How are you feeling?"

"Like scrap." Smokescreen replied. "There was nothing out there."

"Why did you go out there in the first place?" Jack asked.

"I thought I could find…something. To prove…I wasn't…immature." Smokescreen said. "And…to have that rule…lifted."

"Oh." Jack said and looked like he didn't know how to continue.

"Did you…kiss me?" Smokescreen questioned. "Felt something…warm."

Jack turned redder. "That was my hand; I just didn't want to take advantage of you like this."

If it wouldn't have hurt, Smokescreen would have laughed. "You…couldn't, too…small." He said and Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Come here," he said jerking his head slightly, "do you…still want to?"

Jack stared at him surprised. "I thought you didn't like me that way?"

"Was...surprised." Smokescreen replied. "Don't mind, if you ask." He added, and he really didn't. How could he really like something if he didn't try? He already liked Jack, so this was normal, right? Why not take a chance?

Jack bit his lip as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to his cheek. It felt warm, and soft. Jack pulled back blushing. "I really should find a way down."

"No, stay here." Smokescreen said. "Don't wanna lose you…either."

"Well, alright then." Jack said with some uncertainty as he made his way onto Smokescreen's chest, and laid down.

Smokescreen felt his arms creak in protest as he lifted his servo to rest it gently around Jack to hold him securely against his chest plate. He peered down at Jack, who had closed his eyes before his breathing laboured out. Going to sleep sounded like a good idea; Smokescreen thought and closed his optics.

He felt his systems and the monitor continue to function steadily as he drifted into recharge.


	11. Chapter 11

When Arcee came out of recharge, she transformed and turned to see how Jack was doing; only she didn't find him on the couch. She looked around and saw Smokescreen must have woken up during the night, as his servo was lying on his chest plate. She narrowed her optics at the odd way it was elevated though, and she glanced at the couch, her thoughts going incredulous as she made her way over to the berth.

Arcee saw that lying under his hand, was Jack. He didn't look like he was being crushed, and he was smiling. Arcee looked between the two of them, and wondered what had happened during the night. She glanced up as she heard the heavy footsteps coming down the hall, and a moment later Optimus walked in. She saw him look down at Smokescreen and Jack before she shrugged. "I guess they were closer than we thought."

Jack stirred and blinked, but they grew wide when he caught sight of Optimus and Arcee looking at him. He looked down at the chest he was lying on, and the hand covering him up. "I can explain this." He said nervously and Arcee crossed her arms expectantly. "I had a talk with Smokescreen, and he offered to let me use his chest as a bed."

"And that's _all_ you talked about?" Arcee questioned.

Jack nodded; his expression still nervous. "Uh, yeah, it was." He said and tried to push the hand away.

Smokescreen stirred behind him, groaning lightly. "Stop pushing, Jack. What's the matter, you want another kiss?" he asked and opened his optics, and they grew wide as well when he saw who was standing before them.

Arcee stared at them both in disbelief before she glowered at them. "Another?" she repeated. "If you weren't on a berth I'd-"

"Arcee." Optimus interrupted calmly. "Perhaps we should let them explain themselves."

Jack bit his lip, and nodded rapidly. "Nothing happened; I was just so glad that when Smokescreen woke up, I gave him a kiss on the cheek." He paused, and then added forcefully, "As friends of course." He said with an odd tone and Smokescreen smirked down at him.

"Well then you must really like your friends." He added and pulled his hand away from Jack.

"Ignore him." Jack muttered. "Can you get me down from here?" he asked sheepishly.

Arcee rolled her optics before she grabbed Jack and set him on the floor. "Ready to go?"

Jack looked back up at Smokescreen. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course." Smokescreen said loftily.

Jack grinned slightly. "I can see you're getting better already." He said shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm ready to go."

Arcee nodded and transformed. "Let's go then, Smokescreen will still be here when you come back." She said and paused. "You definitely need a shower."

Jack pulled his collar up and sniffed. He grimaced and looked up at Smokescreen. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't mind, having you close was worth it." Smokescreen replied. "Plus, I just got unthawed; there was no way I was going to pass up some extra heat." He said smirking.

Jack scowled at him, though he caught the playful look in the mech's optics. "Well, you were really cold." He huffed and he and Arcee drove off.

Smokescreen looked at Optimus sheepishly. "I guess you want to know what I was doing out there?"

"You can explain to me what happened, with Jack _and_ what you were thinking, after you are fit for duty." Optimus said.

Smokescreen wanted to sigh in relief, but he knew he couldn't with the Prime right there. "Yes, sir."

* * *

"Well, you're certainly looking better." Miko said as she saw Jack walking up the steps of the school.

Jack smirked. "Smokescreen woke up; of course I'm feeling great."

"No, I mean you don't look like someone ran over your dog." Miko retorted and looked at him suspiciously. "Did something happen?" she questioned and Jack involuntarily flushed. "I knew it! What did you two do?"

"Nothing really." Jack replied quietly. "I talked to him mostly, and he let me sleep…next to him." he said as he wasn't going to give Miko anymore fuel than that tidbit.

Miko smirked triumphantly. "You confessed your love for him, didn't you?"

"Whoa, wait a minute, how did you come to that conclusion? We just slept on the same berth." Jack replied, though he silently admitted she wasn't far off the mark. Not that he was going to _tell_ her that.

Miko crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "You two _just_ slept on the same berth? Yeah right, what else happened?"

"Are you going to bug me until I tell you?" Jack asked dryly.

Miko smirked once more. "Only if you don't say anything."

Jack was about to reply when the bell rang. "Oh look, it's time to go to class." He said stiltedly and continued up the steps.

Miko followed after him. "How do you think the 'Bots are going to take this?"

"Why would they care? It's not like we're actually together." Jack retorted. '_At the moment_.'

"But you _want_ to be, don't you?" Miko shot back, but Jack didn't answer. "Bumblebee already knows, and he didn't freak out."

"We can't understand Bumblebee, so we don't know what he would have said." Jack retorted.

Miko huffed, but she grinned slyly at him. "Now that your hickey's gone, maybe Smokescreen will give you another one."

Jack blushed as the girl brushed past him. "Miko!"

* * *

"So how do things look, doc?" Smokescreen questioned more upbeat than before. He was certainly feeling much better, and he wanted nothing more than to move around on his own. The only downsides being he was sure he was in trouble and that the rule about him and Jack was still in effect.

"Physically your vitals check out, but I can't do anything about that processor of yours." Ratchet retorted as he began to unhook Smokescreen from the monitor.

"Hey!" Smokescreen exclaimed indignantly. He quieted down when Optimus came into the room and he smiled tentatively. "So, can I go?"

"Go _where_?" Ratchet muttered and Smokescreen frowned.

Optimus was silent for a moment, as if he was trying to gather his thoughts. "Smokescreen, we will discuss your punishment when you have explained why you went out, and what you were doing with Jack."

Smokescreen glanced at Ratchet, but groaned silently when he realized the mech wasn't going to leave. "I wanted to prove myself, that I could be useful. I might have miscalculated just a little bit."

"A _little?_" Ratchet asked disbelievingly.

Smokescreen's faceplate contorted, and he continued on. "I've just been a bit off, and Jack confessed he had feelings for me, that was what we were talking about."

Optimus looked bemused, while Ratchet looked even more disbelieving. Smokescreen felt flustered to having said that, as he was still having some reservations about giving Jack a chance. It had nothing to do with Jack specifically, but there were still some things that would be problematic, though trying to ignore it hadn't worked out well for either of them.

"And your feelings for Jack?" Optimus prodded.

Smokescreen's faceplate felt hot. "I like him." he said honestly. "I care about him; he willingly spent time with me."

"Given the amount of time you both have actually spent together, it seems unlikely your feelings are merely a spontaneous thing." Optimus replied.

Smokescreen froze as he stared in shock at the Prime. He was big trouble now, wasn't he? "What do you mean, sir?" he questioned, but the response was almost automatic, but he had to push past that. "Uh, how much trouble am gonna be in?"

"That remains to be decided on your answer." Optimus replied sternly.

Smokescreen grounded his denta nervously as he thought of how to explain it. In the end he decided to be up front about it, it seemed all their sneaking around had finally come back to bite them, as he was sure Jack was going to get an earful from his mother when she learned of this. "Jack and I have been spending time together, even after you said we couldn't see each other. He asked me to take him on his date, where he later confessed those feeling to me. The talk we had last night was actually about giving _this_ a chance."

"Is that _all_ there is?" Optimus questioned.

Smokescreen racked his processor for a moment. "Yeah, pretty sure it is." He replied, but grimaced. "No, wait, it's not. I went to see Jack the night he was grounded, when he got that black eye," he growled at the memory of not being able to do anything, "and when I saw it, I got angry."

Optimus stood a little straighter as he stared at Smokescreen. "Did you attack the human?"

"What? No, I'll admit that I _wanted_ too," Smokescreen replied, "but Jack stopped me. He said if I did anything, then we'd both get in trouble for it, and I didn't want that, so I backed off." He explained and his expression twisted up nervously. "So what's the verdict?"

"While your honesty is refreshing," Optimus said and Smokescreen grimaced; he'd been keeping a lot back lately, hadn't he? "you both still went against the rules Mrs. Darby and myself set for you both. You will not be permitted to roam around together unsupervised here, and the ban either of you seeing each other will only apply to the outside."

"Optimus, are you sure it's wise to let them roam together at all?" Ratchet questioned. "Smokescreen's influence on Jack has not exactly brought out the best in him."

"Hey!" Smokescreen said offended. "I'll have you know that Jack's not as innocent as he seems." He added, but secretly he was relieved that his 'punishment' wasn't something more severe.

"As for your punishment," Optimus continued and Smokescreen's plating paled, "you will be cleaning the base."

"What, I'll be as old as Ratchet when I'm done." Smokescreen retorted and the medic crossed his arms and scoffed.

"And no doubt you'll still be breaking the rules then too." He added.

Smokescreen pressed his lips together tightly, as in the current situation; he didn't want things to escalate to an even worse reprimand.

* * *

When Jack got to the base with Arcee, he was surprised to see that Smokescreen was out of the berth, and scrubbing down the walls. "Uh, Smokescreen, what's going on?"

Smokescreen, grumbling about how it was going to take forever to clean the walls, paused and looked down at Jack, his optics brightening just a bit. "My punishment, I have to clean the base."

"At least it's not house arrest, right?" Jack questioned.

Smokescreen grimaced. "That's not all it is. We're supposed to be supervised, we can't be alone together."

Overhearing this, Miko smirked triumphantly. "I _knew_ you two were together!"

"What? When did this happen?" Bulkhead asked confused as he looked between both Jack and Smokescreen.

Jack sighed exasperatedly. "We're not together, Miko."

"Not yet." Smokescreen added slyly and Jack blushed at the mech's grin.

"Anyway," Jack said and looked at Bulkhead, "not too long ago, it's kind of complicated."

"You two like each other, how's that complicated?" Miko questioned, but Jack didn't have time to reply as Optimus looked away from the monitor screen.

"Autobots, one of the Omega keys locations has been decrypted." He stated gravely. "We depart immediately."

"Even me?" Smokescreen asked hopefully.

Optimus paused only momentarily. "Yes, Smokescreen, you too." He said and Smokescreen looked relieved to be doing something other than cleaning.

Jack gently stopped Smokescreen's walk by placing a hand on his leg to catch his attention. "Uh, be careful." He said unsure of what to say.

Smokescreen smirked and knelt down. "Don't worry, I will." He said loftily and carefully picked Jack up in his servos, a sly grin once more on his lips. "Kiss for the road?"

Jack flushed as Miko's attention snapped to him. "Not in front of everyone." He said awkwardly.

Smokescreen shrugged and set Jack down after ruffling his hair with one digit. "Next time then." He said walked over to the open green portal.

Jack saw Arcee looking at him with a raised optic ridge. "Er, you take care too." He said rubbing the back of his neck, but Arcee just smirked slightly and followed the others into the portal.

Miko raced over to him once it closed. "What was that about a kiss?"

"Nothing, he was just joking." Jack replied tiredly as he knew Miko wasn't going to let it go.

"I saw the way you looked at each other, that was not just nothing." Miko said smugly.

Jack rolled his eyes as he made his way up the platform stairway, trying to stave Miko off for as long as possible.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Set during "Inside Job," and for a moment, Creepy!Knock Out invades the fic.**

* * *

Jack looked out his window and saw the sun had set, and he sat down on his bed. He had ignored Miko as best he could at the base by distracting her with video games until his mother had come to check on him. She'd offered to take Raf and Miko home as well since they didn't know how long the Autobots would be away for. Jack had the entire ride until they dropped Miko off to avoid her making a slip to his mother about him and Smokescreen.

It was tiring, but his mother hadn't been tipped off at least.

Curiously, Jack took his phone out and called Smokescreen to see if their mission was over yet. He frowned when all he got was static and tried Arcee next.

"_This isn't exactly a good time, Jack._" Arcee said, but there was no blaster fire in the background.

"I just tried to call Smokescreen and he wouldn't pick up, is he okay?" Jack questioned in concern.

Arcee was silent. "_Jack, I don't know how Smokescreen's doing."_ She said and Jack's heart started to speed up.

"What happened?" he asked and Arcee remained silent. "Please, what happened?"

_"Smokescreen,_" Arcee said reluctantly, "_was captured by the Decepticons_."

"_What?!_" Jack shouted. "I can't believe this, how this happen? Did he get caught on the mission?"

_"No, it was after_." Arcee replied. "_He was upset and went out for a drive, but then Soundwave showed up and captured him_." she said and her voice turned sharp. "_Jack, stay home, everything will be fine._"

Jack frowned. "This is different than the Arctic thing, the Decepticons could very well kill him." he said. "And you expect me to believe that everything's just gonna be fine?"

"_Yes._" Arcee said simply. "_The Decepticons need him for something, and that will give us time to try and find him. Stay calm, and stay home_." She said before cutting the line.

Jack stared at his phone before he closed it and gripped his hair in frustration and worry. How was he supposed to stay calm when he felt like he was going to be sick with worry?

* * *

_Smokescreen saw Jack stand in front of the entrance, his face set in determination. "I just want to_ talk! _" he shouted and the mech transformed as he leaned in close._

"_Well I_ don't _we can't talk if there's nothing to say." He retorted and wondered why Jack didn't get the hint to leave him alone. He'd messed up, and he didn't like being reminded of it._

"_It's still my fault, just let me apologize." Jack said pleadingly and the sincere tone caught Smokescreen off guard._ _It was all it took though for him to say what was on his mind. "What do you have to apologize for? I was careless with bringing you with me, that's all there is to it."_

_Jack's response had surprised him, especially with how heartfelt he sounded when he said he liked having fun with him. "You… you were?"_

_Jack nodded. "Yes, I had fun that's what I wanted to ask you before."_

_The idea of hanging out with Jack could have repercussions, and it made Smokescreen wary of immediately replying. He'd eventually replied though that he'd think about, and Jack accepted the answer with a reply that he would be waiting and moved to the side. Smokescreen paused and smiled slightly, if they were going to try and strike something up, he might as well extend some courtesy. "Walk with me?"_

_Jack smiled back at him. "Sure."_

* * *

"_Am I really that boring?" Jack questioned after his tour had failed to catch Smokescreen's interest._

_Smokescreen decided to alleviate those fears._ "You're _not boring, you can be very fun when you're bad," he said slyly and it got a flush out of Jack "It's just that_ this _is boring. More of that not being able to do things for myself."_

_Jack's tone turned dry. "If you did things for yourself then we'd have more giant robot sightings than we already do." Smokescreen snorted as took Jack home. "I'll see you tomorrow."_

_Jack smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, later."_

* * *

_Smokescreen felt guilty as Jack gently broke up with the redheaded girl. "Jack, whatever I did, I didn't mean for this to happen."_

"_You never mean for anything to happen, do you?" Jack asked, but Smokescreen had a feeling he wasn't supposed to answer as Jack shook his head. "It wasn't because of you; it was because of me…and my relation to you."_

_Smokescreen's guilty gave way to confusion. "I…I don't understand what you're saying."_

_Jack had sighed before he replied and he blushed. "I have what is called a 'crush' on you; it means that I'm interested in you…romantically."_

_This confession caught Smokescreen off guard. Jack had feelings for him? He didn't know this, but in his haste to brush past the awkwardness, Jack ended up looking like he'd just gotten his spark broken and it made Smokescreen feel like slag. The feel only worsened as Jack directed him to drop him off at the corner._

_"If you don't feel the same way I do about you, then what am I to do?" Jack asked, but though his tone was uncaring, there was something underneath._

_This was something Smokescreen had no problems with answering. "You're still my friend, and you were accepting of me."_

_Jack had glanced down at him, looking worried. "I just thought I couldn't keep this to myself, which you should know before you all found the Omega Keys and left. We'd never see each other after that, and there'd be nothing significant about me to stay in your processor."_

_Smokescreen couldn't help but disagree with that. "That's not true, you've managed to surprise me a few times, including tonight."_

_Jack's slightly smile made Smokescreen feel a little less awful for brushing off his confession. "This isn't exactly a good thing to be remembered for, that I'm only important to you because we broke the rules together."_

_Smokescreen's tone became sincere. "You're important to me for other reasons."_

_After Jack had gotten out, he'd explained how much he liked him, and that he respected the fact Smokescreen didn't feel the same way about him. He'd further elaborated that the mech made him feel normal and alive with a gently pat on the hood, and thanked him for being his friend. _

_Smokescreen couldn't help but be stunned, so much that he couldn't let out anything other than a 'You're welcome.' It gave him a lot to think about._

* * *

_Smokescreen remembered the feel of Jack's warm hand on his cheek, and his soft lips on the same spot after they had spoken of how much they cared for each other and were willing to give this, whatever 'this' was at least, a chance. He remembered the phantom feeling of Jack lying on his chest, so close to his spark, and so warm under his digits. It had been nice._

_That was why he was startled when that pleasant dream abruptly shifted to him stand with the other Autobots in front of Optimus as he explained the use of the Omega Keys and how it could restore Cybertron._

* * *

Smokescreen was brought of the cortical patch when Knock Out pulled the pull out of his helm and he felt defeated when he saw that Megatron now knew what the keys could do.

Knock Out brought Megatron back online and the silver mech's words chilled Smokescreen. "The power to remake Cybertron, as I see fit." He said and got off the slab. "I will pry the other two keys from Optimus Prime's lifeless fingers." He said to Knock Out. "We must find the exact location of the Autobot base. Patch in and tear apart Smokescreen's mind if you must."

"Me?" Knock Out asked.

"Who else?" Megatron retorted and turned around. "Do you think I would intrust you to see this key safely to the vault containing the other one?" he questioned as he held up the Omega Key that Knock Out had pulled out of Smokescreen's body with the phase shifter.

Knock Out didn't reply as Megatron left and sighed in exasperation as the doors slid shut. "Once more into the brain pane."

Smokescreen started struggling despite how tired he felt. He couldn't let the Decepticons know the bases' location. "No, not again! Stay out of my head!"

Knock Out chuckled. "Now, now, you'll only make things worse for yourself." He said. "Though maybe when I tear apart your mind, I'll leave those memories you have of that human just so I can tear him apart in front of _you_."

Smokescreen struggled even more, but he also felt humiliated that his memories with Jack weren't his own anymore. "He has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, that's where you're wrong, you see; Megatron doesn't really like that human," Knock Out scowled and rubbed his jaw, "and neither do I actually." He continued and smirked. "But maybe I can have him as an experiment of some kind. If he likes having fun with you, then he's going to _love_ the fun we'd have together."

Smokescreen scowled fiercely at him. "You'd better not lay a hand on him!"

Knock Out looked down at him haughtily. "You're in no position to be making demands." He said and leered as he tapped a digit on Smokescreen's chest plating. "In fact, you're in no position to stop me, _period._ I wonder if I could get the information out of you another way." He added and raked his claws down the stomach plating.

Smokescreen felt disgust curl inside him at the touch, but he noticed that the phase shifter was within reach and he grabbed onto it. "I don't think so." He retorted and slid off the slab. He struggled with Knock Out over the shifter until he pulled it free from the red mech's grip as they went through a wall on the other side of a hall. Smokescreen held the shifter up triumphantly as he saw that Knock Out was stuck in the wall.

"Well, aren't you the clever one?" The red mech hissed and struggled before he glared at Smokescreen. "This ship is miles in the sky and swarming with Decepticons, do you really think you can escape?"

Smokescreen put the phase shifter on his wrist and turned in on. "Who says I'm looking to escape?" retorted and mockingly gave him a two-fingered salute as he ran down the hall, turning the corner in the process.

He smirked as he heard Knock Out yell in frustration; now, where were those keys?

* * *

All through the day, Jack had wanted to call Arcee and see if Smokescreen was back yet, but he didn't want to seem like a bother when they were working on trying to figure out a way to find him. He didn't want to tell Miko and Raf what happened, but Miko eventually wheedled it out of him when she saw he was starting to looked someone had kicked him in the gut.

So when Jack saw Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee out at the front of the school, he rushed over. "Is he okay?" he asked immediately.

"Yes, a little cocky, but what else is new?" Arcee replied and Jack sighed in relief.

"Can I see him?" he asked.

"Yeah, the funny thing was, he said he wanted to see you too when I left." Arcee relayed and Jack put on his helmet before getting on the seat.

"I can't wait to see the look on your face when you see your boyfriend." Miko teased.

"Sorry, Miko, you can't go to the base today." Bulkhead said and Miko crossed her arms indignantly.

"How come Jack gets to then?" she demanded.

"Jack won't be staying long, Smokescreen offered to do inventory to get Optimus to clear it." Arcee explained.

Miko's scowl fell into a smirk. "Seems someone's in _love_." She said elbowing Jack in the ribs.

The dark-haired teen scowled at her. "No we're not." He retorted and let Arcee drive him away before Miko could continue her teasing. "I didn't expect Smokescreen to come back like you said, honestly."

"He got the Omega Keys the Decepticons had, but something seemed to rattle him." Arcee said. "He told us that Megaton used a cortical psychic patch on him, but all he got was what the Omega Keys did."

"He came close to almost having the co-ordinates of the Autobot base being plucked out of his head, that'd rattle me too." Jack replied as Arcee came to the road leading toward the silo and watched the rock wall slid up to let them go in. Once she stopped, Jack took his helmet off and got off the seat, though once he caught sight of Smokescreen, he broke into a run. "Smokescreen!"

The mech looked down at him, and it was followed by him kneeling down as he scooped Jack up once he was in reach. "Jack."

"You're okay." The boy said relieved as he felt his relief reach its peak.

"Of course I'm ok-" Smokescreen was cut off when he felt something soft press against his lips, and he was stunned to realize it was Jack kissing him. He closed his optics as he enjoyed the feel of it, and leaned his head forward as Jack pulled away, which made him open his optics to Jack's bright red face. "I thought you said no kissing in front of everyone?"

"Just this once." Jack replied as he steadfastly kept from looking at everyone else.

Smokescreen half-lidded his optics. "You've said that before." He replied and Jacks' face practically glowed in embarrassment.

"You said you needed to talk to me?" Jack reminded him and Smokescreen's expression became serious.

"Yeah, it's kinda important." He said and stood up with Jack held securely in his servos and turned to walk away.

"Smokescreen…" Optimus said and Smokescreen looked back, his optics widening innocently.

"Oh, right, the rule." He muttered like he just noticed they were standing there. "Arcee, if anyone has to hear this," he said and grimaced, "I think you should." He said before he continued walking off.

Arcee raised an optic ridge before she followed after them, though she kept a watchful optic on where Smokescreen's servos were on Jack. She leaned against the wall as Smokescreen came to a halt.

"Jack, you know I care about you, right?" he questioned and Jack nodded. "Well, I promise I'll make sure they never hurt you."

Arcee straightened up as Jack looked confused. "Who hurts him?" she asked hastily.

"Are you talking about Vince? You didn't do anything lately, so I don't think you need to worry." Jack said and smiled, but Smokescreen's expression remained dead serious.

"I'm not talking about him; I'm talking about Knock Out and Megatron." He said and Jack looked surprised.

"Smokescreen, it's not your duty to protect Jack, I'm his guardian." Arcee replied. "I can make sure nothing happens to him."

Smokescreen looked uneasy, but Jack had to wonder if this abrupt declaration had something to do with his capture. "Smokescreen, what exactly happened?"

The mech tried hard to focus on Jack and not on Arcee standing to the side. "Knock Out was about to go into my head like Megatron, but he taunted me with the fact he saw my memories of us together." He said and Jack looked concerned, but he wasn't finished yet. "He said he was going to show you how much more fun he was than me, and then he got even creepier before I took the phase shifter away from him."

Jack didn't even want to know how 'creepier' Knock Out got, but it rattled him as well to know about this development. "Well, I'm okay, and you're okay, that's all that should matter."

Smokescreen's uneasy expression lightened to a small smirk. "You're right, that's all that should matter. That and the fact I got the Omega Keys."

Jack rolled his eyes as he saw Arcee do the same. "I should be going now since it seems you're fine." He said and the three of them walked back into the main room, but Optimus, Ratchet and Bulkhead were standing at the portal. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's Starscream; he wants to exchange the Omega Keys he has for medical aid." Ratchet explained and Jack's brows shot up in surprise.

"Arcee, prepare to close the ground bridge should something go array, Smokescreen, stand on guard with Bumblebee." Optimus instructed as the three mechs went through the green portal.

Smokescreen set Jack a top the nearest platform. "Don't move." He said winking.

Jack snorted. "Not like I can." He retorted and they waited for the mechs to come back through.

A sudden explosion in the back caused them all to look around before the sprinklers came on and Jack put his arms over his head to shield himself from the water.

"Arcee, close the ground bridge now!" Optimus sent through the intercom and Arcee pulled the lever.

She saw a gray blur go speeding into the ground bridge seconds before it shut off. "Go find out what that explosion was about." She said and Smokescreen turned to leave, when he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of an empty perch.

* * *

"I cannot allow Optimus Prime to be the one who revives Cybertron." Megatron said as he and Dreadwing came onto the bridge of the Nemesis. "We _will_ locate the Autobot base, invade it, and retrieve the Omega Keys."

"Been there," Another voice said smugly and the two of them saw Starscream leaning against a console, "done that." He said and bowed. "Pardon the unannounced visit," he continued and Dreadwing took out his blaster, but Megatron stopped him from shooting Starscream, "but I come bearing a peace offering." He said and held up the three Omega Keys with a smirk. "And a bargaining chip." He said and in the other servo he held up Jack's still form.


	13. Chapter 13

Smokescreen heard a high screeching as he stared at Jack's empty perch, horror coursing through him at the realization that Starscream had taken him, but when he felt Arcee and Bumblebee retrain him, he became aware of the fact the screeching was coming from _him_.

"Smokescreen! Calm down, Smokescreen!" Arcee shouted over his denial.

"Keep calm? How can I keep calm knowing that Starscream took Jack?!" Smokescreen retorted and tried to thrash out of their grips, but to no avail.

"Arcee, open the ground bridge." Optimus sounded over the intercom.

Smokescreen paused in his struggles, hope surging that Optimus had caught Starscream. "Please tell me you have Jack with you." Optimus' reply didn't help him. "I was unaware Jack had been taken along with the Omega Keys."

The portal opened and the three mechs came out, but there was no sign of Jack with them, and Smokescreen broke free of Bumblebee's grip to try and make a mad dash for the portal, but Bulkhead caught a hold of him.

"Hey, calm down." He said, but that just made Smokescreen even angrier.

"You all need to stop telling me to calm down!" he shouted and slumped when the bridge closed, wrenching himself away from Bulkhead and sullenly began to pace around. "I promised I'd protect him, and I couldn't even do that."

"We had no idea Starscream had red energon, or that he'd take Jack." Arcee said, but she sounded just as shaken as Smokescreen felt.

"Starscream would not have done so without reason, he must be planning to use Jack as a bargaining chip." Optimus realized.

"But the question is; to who?" Ratchet added.

"We shall see soon enough." Optimus said gravely.

Smokescreen stopped his pacing, his expression becoming serious. Secretly he hoped Starscream wouldn't go to the Decepticons; that he really would just try and trade back for something like energon. But he remembered Knock Out's words, about how Megatron didn't like Jack, and it made him see that they needed to find a way to get Jack back _now_.

* * *

Jack opened his eyes, his head spinning as he remembered the sudden black out he'd experienced. He wondered what had happened, but as he looked around at the container he was in, he didn't have to wonder for long. Jack had a pretty strong idea of who had taken him away, but he couldn't be sure he hadn't switched hands, given the look of the room he was in.

He could either be back on the Decepticon ship, or he could be wherever Starscream had holed himself up in. Jack pushed against the box, experimentally banging his fist on it, but it didn't even vibrate or shake under his hands. He looked at the ground, but could still see that it was completely encasing him, so how was he able to breathe freely?

Jack kept his breaths as calm as he could, as he searched around the box, looking out to give him some clue about where he was. He got his answer when the doors to the room slid open and a red mech walked in, his optics narrowing once he saw Jack was awake. He then grinned viciously at him.

"It's about time you woke up; I thought Starscream might have killed you when I checked on you last." Knock Out said flippantly.

"So I'm on the Nemesis?" Jack questioned.

"Yes, does it feel good to be back? Or did you not have enough fun climbing all over us the last time?" Knock Out questioned in a growl.

Jack felt himself freeze. They had all been _aware_ of that? Then that also meant…Jack paled. "Didn't you have enough fun trying to kill me?"

"As I recall, that Autobot medic interrupted before I could get to the good part." Knock Out retorted. "I had to buff out not only your greasy little prints that were all over me, but also the thrashing I got for letting you escape."

"How is that my fault?" Jack snapped.

Knock Out glowered at him, and he leaned down threateningly over Jack's container. "Trust me; we can blame you for quite a bit. I happen to know that Starscream's not exactly thrilled with what happened between you and Megatron in those caverns. I'm sure he would have killed you outright if you weren't of any use."

Jack blinked, reeling in disbelief that Megatron could have let anyone know about what had happened there. "How do you know about that?"

"Let's just say, when Megatron escaped, he wasn't exactly happy about being spared by an organic." Knock Out replied. "You also returned the Prime's memories, and that was really irritating considering how long I spent putting that decal on him."

"Optimus was an Autobot through and through, he left the Nemesis of his own free will!" Jack snapped and Knock Out scowled back at him.

"I said I'd wait to kill you in front of your Autobot, but you just might tempt me to do away with you sooner." Knock Out hissed and lifted up the container, his servos wrapped around the cylinder as Jack staggered to keep his footing. His optics gave Jack a once over before he sneered. "I can't believe that a puny organic managed to snag themselves a Cybertronian. He's an Autobot, but _this_ should not be able to work." He commented.

Jack glared at him. "What goes on between he and I is none of your business."

"He made it a liability with how much we saw from his head." Knock Out retorted. "It's really telling how much of a rookie that mech is if he didn't even know how _inadvisable_ it would be to have a relationship in the midst of this war."

"Is that why you're so charming?" Jack asked sarcastically.

Instead of scowling, Knock Out just smirked in a frustrated sort of way. "I said 'relationships,' not 'casual one night stands.' That term really does suit you both more, there are just too many differences it for it to work out."

Jack glowered and defiantly crossed his arms. "What happens, happens." He said stiffly.

Knock Out continued like he didn't hear Jack. "Of course, if he 'likes it when your bad' maybe _you_ really aren't his type." He said and smirked again, which caused Jack to bristle with the implications. "Or maybe it's just that _he's_ not your type; a little more time with me, and we could do something very bad." He said leering and Jack grimaced as he tried to back further into the glass. Knock Out's expression evened out though. "That will have to wait though; we still need to retrieve your little human friends."

Jack felt his fear rise. "No, do want you want with me, but leave them alone!"

"Even when you and that rookie beg you're different." Knock Out replied chuckling darkly. "This isn't just about you, and as much as I want to take you up on that, we need all three of you. The Autobots really should have taken better care of their liabilities." He said and set Jack back down on the counter. "Don't worry though, maybe we can still _play_ if there's enough time left." He said and walked out of the room, leaving Jack alone once more.

Jack pounded his fists on the glass again, but felt his shoulders slump and he slid down the glass container. How was he going to get out of this one? He didn't like the sound of what Knock Out was saying, and he couldn't even warn his friends about this.

Jack paused in his thought and he wanted to smack himself when he realized he still had his phone in his pocket. He reached in, and didn't know if he had enough time to call them both, but he did know the 'Bots could do something about it. He put the phone to his ear and waited for it to be picked up. "Arcee!"

"_Jack?_" Arcee sounded so relieved and disbelieving as she heard his voice. Jack could hear his name being repeated in the background. "_Where did Starscream take you? Are you alright?_"

Jack checked himself over. "Yeah, I'm alright. But Starscream, he brought me to the Nemesis."

"_The Nemesis_" Arcee repeated. "_Jack, Ratchet is going to try and locate you, try and stay on the phone as long as you can._I see, well, we'll deal with that, alright? And then we'll come and get you. Hang tight." Arcee said and tried to sound reassuring. Her worried tone betrayed her real feelings though.

Jack saw the doors open again and he abruptly shut his phone before slipping it quickly back into his pocket as he saw that in the doorway was Starscream. "What do you want?"

"I believe we never had a proper introduction." Starscream said coldly.

"I know who you are." Jack said warily.

"Yes, and I know who _you_ are. When you showed up in that cavern, with that drill, I had no idea that you had even encountered Megatron down there." Starscream began conversationally as he walked slowly up to Jack's container. "To think of how _differently_ things could have gone. Had I known just who you were when I grabbed you, you wouldn't even be alive right now."

Jack was really worried now. Would Starscream try and kill him while he was in here? He certainly talked like he'd love nothing more than to do just that. "I'm supposed to be used later, they'll know it was you." He said grasping at straws.

Starscream didn't look like he was pleased to be reminded of this. "Yes, and when that time comes, I'll be the one holding your container. Who knows, my grip just might slip and you could have an unfortunate _accident_." He said and with one final glare, he stalked out of the room.

Jack let out the breath he'd been holding and it was then he'd gotten another idea. Going to one end, Jack ran to the other side and pushed against the glass. The glass didn't crack, but the container itself wobbled slightly and Jack did another run at it. It wobbled again and Jack continued to run until the container finally tipped over and it fell to the side. The top didn't break off, and Jack would have sighed if he didn't do something so incredibly risky.

He began to roll the container to the edge and with one breath; he pushed it over, and clenched his eyes shut as it impacted the ground. The counter wasn't very high, but it did break with enough force to give Jack several cut and scrapes, mostly over his exposed face and hands as the rest of him was mildly protected from the glass. His head pounded and he only lied there on the floor, stunned that he was even still alive.

Jack harshly reminded himself that it would have certainly ended with him dead if he'd been dropped at Cybertronian height. He grimaced at the ache that spread through his body and saw that one of the glass shards had cut his arm, through his sleeve. Jack bit onto the sleeve and pulled it with his teeth to tear it off and tied it around the wound. He then tentatively touched his face, wincing as his fingers came away with blood.

Shaking his head slightly, Jack needed to find some place to hide, as someone was bound to have heard that crash. He slowly walked over to the side of the counter where there were several crates and he hid behind them. He hoped the Autobots had gone to protect the others right now; he didn't want this to have been in vain.

They would come for him soon enough, he was sure of it. Because right now, that hope of rescue was all he had left.


End file.
